Ringle Crouch Green Mill is a

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...

in Sandhurst,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, that was demolished to base level in 1945, and now has a new smock tower built on it as residential accommodation and an electricity generator.

History

Ringle Crouch Green Mill was built in 1844 by William Warren, the

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

millwright to replace a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

which had stood at Boxhurst Farm that was blown down in 1842. It was the only corn mill built in Kent with five sails.There was another five-sail mill at

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

, but that was a pumping mill The mill was built for James Collins, who ran the mill until his death. His son Edward then took the mill and ran it until his death in 1911. The mill was run for a short time by Edward Collins' sons Edward and Harry, then by C J Bannister, who also had a mill at

Northiam Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother. The A28 road to Canterbury and Hastings passes through it. Governance Northiam ...

, for about a year until the mill ceased working in 1912. A sail blew off, and the mill quickly became derelict. The

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 " ...

and shutters were taken down, and in 1926 the stage was taken down. An iron windpump was erected alongside the mill, and three water tanks were installed in the mill to supply nearby cottages and cowsheds. The smock was demolished in 1945 The base was left standing and used as a

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

hut for a time. In 1997, planning permission was applied for, and granted, to build a replica mill on the existing mill base, with the tower being used as living accommodation and a wind turbine for generating electricity. The new building was to replicate the former windmill, with five sails like the original mill had.

Description

''Ringle Crouch Green Mill'' was a four-storey smock mill on a two-storey brick base, with a Kentish-style cap carrying five single

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 ...

on a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

windshaft. It was winded by a

. There was a stage at second-floor level. The mill drove four pairs of

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s. The reconstructed mill has a four-storey smock on the original two-storey mill base, with the cap of a different design to the original, and lacking a fantail. The sails are long each. The generator is rated at about capacity.

Millers

*James Collins 1844 - *Edward Collins Sr. - 1911 *Edward & Harry Collins 1911 *C J Bannister 1911 - 1912 References for above:-

References

External links

Windmill World page
on the mill. {{Kent Windmills Windmills completed in 1844 Windmills completed in 1997 Buildings and structures demolished in 1945 Windmills in Kent Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Smock mills in England Electrical generators Windmills Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom