Reed Mill is a
tower mill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520
Thi ...
in
Kingston, Kent
Kingston is a village and civil parish between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, South East England. The parish contains the hamlet of Marley.
History
The Kingston Brooch, an important piece of Anglo-Saxon jewellery dating from the 7th Century, was ...
, England that was built in the early nineteenth century and worked until 1915, after which the mill was derelict. In 2010–11 the mill was converted and extended to form residential accommodation.
History
''Reed mill'' was built in the early nineteenth century. It was marked on the 1858-72
Ordnance Survey
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map. The mill was working until 28 March 1915 when it was tailwinded and the cap and sails were blown off. The fantail was inoperative at the time as a new gear was being cast for it. As it would have cost in excess of £300 to repair the mill was abandoned.
Before conversion, the mill was an empty tower, all machinery having been removed. In 2010-11 the mill was converted and extended to form residential accommodation by RJ Gibbs and Sons LTD. A new-build barn and glass conservatory were built adjoining the mill. The conversion was covered in the first programme of the second series of
Channel 4's ''
The Restoration Man
''The Restoration Man'' is a British home improvement television series presented by George Clarke. It first aired on Channel 4 on 14 March 2010.
Synopsis
Architect George Clarke travels around Great Britain profiling people restoring historica ...
'' programme.
Description
''Reed Mill'' is a four-storey tower mill, formerly with a Kentish-style cap carrying four
patent sails
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.
Jib sails
The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound rou ...
. It was winded by a
fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...
. There was no stage. The mill drove three pairs of
millstones.
[
]
Millers
*Daniel Gouger 1825 - circa 1865
*F J Fagg - 1915
References for above:-[
]
See also
* http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Isle-of-Thanet/2005-09/1126447767
References
External links
Windmill World page
on the mill.
{{Kent Windmills
Industrial buildings completed in the 19th century
Windmills in Kent
Grinding mills in the United Kingdom
Tower mills in the United Kingdom
Residential buildings completed in 2011