Argos Hill Mill is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...

at Argos Hill, Mayfield,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

As of 2017 it is in the process of restoration by the Argos Hill Windmill Trust.

Description

''Argos Hill Mill'' is a post mill on a single storey roundhouse. She had four patent sails carried on a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

windshaft and is winded by a tailpole mounted

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 "f ...

. The main post is made up from four pieces of timber. Along with Jill, Clayton, she is one of only two windmills in England to retain this feature. The mill drove two pairs of

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s, arranged head and tail. The cast iron brake wheel is diameter and the wooden tail wheel is diameter. The mill is unusual in the way that it has been extended at the rear, giving it a distinctive appearance.

History

The earliest record of a windmill on this site is in 1656. ''Argos Hill Mill'' was built in 1835. It worked by wind until 1927, mostly by successive generations of the Weston family. The

blew off in 1929 and the shutters were removed from the

sails A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

in 1932. The mill was acquired by Uckfield District Council in 1955. Neve's, the Heathfield millwrights fitted a new breast beam and repaired the side girts and corner posts. Further restoration work was done in 1969 by Hole's of

Burgess Hill Burgess Hill () is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. ...

. A storm damaged a sail in 1976, and a new sail and stock were fitted by Hole's.

Millers

*Aaron Weston - 1844 *William Richardson - 1927

Threat of demolition

A survey in 2007 revealed the mill was in danger of collapsing. Of concern were the roundhouse, crosstrees, crown tree, sails, tailpole and fantail. On 14 January 2008, a meeting was held in Mayfield, where Wealden District Council put forward options for the mill's future. One proposal, to dismantle the mill and remove it to storage was strongly criticised by those attending, including members of the Sussex Mills Group and the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

. It was pointed out that Wealden District Council had not spent money allocated for maintenance of the mill, and that giving themselves permission to demolish a listed building would make other listed buildings in the area more vulnerable, and erode the protection given by listed building status. As a result, the ''Friends of Argos Hill Windmill'' was set up to save the mill.

Restoration in progress

In April 2010, the Argos Hill Windmill Trust was established to lease the mill from Wealden District Council with the aim of restoring it to working order. A high-profile fundraising campaign was launched in 2011 to raise funds for the restoration and a substantial lottery grant obtained. Holes were engaged to restore the main structure of the mill and return the striking gear to working order, while volunteers tackled the replacement of the weatherboard on the mill itself, and the renovation of the roundhouse floor, walls and roof. These first two phases of the restoration project were successfully completed in 2016 when the mill's sweeps turned in the wind for the first time in over 80 years. Phase 3 of the restoration project is now underway to rebuild the fantail and restore the internal machinery. See the Friends of Argos Hill Windmill website for details and open days.

References

External links

Friends of Argos Hill Windmill websiteMills Archive website
{{Sussex Windmills Post mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1835 Windmills in East Sussex Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex Grade II* listed windmills 1835 establishments in England