William Coles Finch (1864–1944) was a British historian and author of a number of books on Kent-related topics. He is best known for writing ''Watermills and Windmills'', published in 1933 and reprinted in 1976, which is considered a standard work on the topic of Kent

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

Personal

William Coles Finch was born on 23 October, 1864 in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

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 ...

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index of births registered in October, November, December, 1864 - Name: Finch, William Coles. District: Medway Volume: 2A Page: 373. 1901 Census of Medway, RG13/731, Folio 11, Page 14, Name: William C Finch, Address: 55 Queen's Road, Chatham, Occupation: Mining Engineer (Waterworks) Where Born: Rochester, Kent Condition: Married His wife was Emily, and they had four children, Vera, Dorothy, Irene and Neville. In 1908, his first book, ''Water, its origin and use'', was published. This was followed in 1914 by ''Water in Nature'', jointly authored with

Ellison Hawks Ellison Hawks (13 March 1889 – 5 April 1971) was a British writer on popular science and technology topics. He wrote numerous books explaining the working of gadgets and the manufacture of industrial products. From 1921 he became an editor of ''Me ...

. In 1925, ''In Kentish Pilgrim Land'' was published, followed by ''The Lure of the Countryside'' in 1927, ''Life in Rural England'' in 1928 and ''Watermills in Windmills'' in 1933.See Published Works section of this article The latter is considered a

bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

on windmills in Kent. Coles Finch died in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

on 6 June 1944, aged 79. He is buried in the churchyard of St Nicholas Church, Rochester. In 1976, ''Watermills and Windmills'' was reprinted.

BBC Radio Medway BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience o ...

produced an hour-long documentary ''Sweeping Changes, The Windmills of Kent'' in response to the reprint.

Career

Coles Finch was the resident engineer of the Brompton, Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester Water Company. He lived at Waterworks House, Luton,

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. In 1897, Coles Finch read a paper at the British Association of Waterworks Engineers meeting at the Town Hall,

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London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Electrical Water Level Recorders.

Published works

* * (jointly authored with

). * * * ** (reprint) * * * ** (reprint)

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles Finch, William 1864 births 1944 deaths People from Chatham, Kent English mechanical engineers 20th-century English historians English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers 19th-century British engineers 20th-century British engineers English nature writers