Hogg Hill Mill is 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 central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...
at
Icklesham
Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles (10 km) east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye, East Sussex, Rye road. The surround ...
in
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. It houses the private
recording studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
of
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
.
History
Hogg Hill Mill was built in
Pett
Pett is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located north-east of Hastings on the edge of Pett Level, the one-time marshes stretching along the coast of Rye Bay.
The road through the vill ...
in 1781 and moved to Icklesham in 1790. It was working by wind until 1920, when it was stopped, owing to a weak weatherbeam.
The mill was also used as a filming location for the 1951 British crime drama film ''
The Quiet Woman'', directed by John Gilling. Today, the mill houses the recording studios of
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
.
Description
Hogg Hill Mill is a post mill on a two-storey roundhouse. It has four
spring 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 roof-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 ...
. It is one of only two surviving post mills in England with this feature, and the only one where this can still be seen.
[The other mill is at ]Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Companies
*Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People
* Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname
* Baron de Ramsey, a title i ...
, Essex, which has not carried its fantail since 1939. 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 brake wheel has been removed, but the wooden tail wheel is of clasp arm construction.
[
]
Millers
*John Skinner 1781–1790 (Pett)
*William Sargeant 1791
*John Sargeant 1834–1855
*Lewis Sargent 1855–1874 (Source: census returns)
*Garndner Bros 1890–1920[
]
Recording studio
The English musician Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
, bought the nearby Blossom Wood Farm in Peasmarsh
Peasmarsh is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in the county of East Sussex in England. It is located on the A268 road between Rye and Beckley, some north-west of Rye.
The village church, dedicated to St Peter and Paul, lie ...
in 1973 in hopes of raising his children away from the limelight. He bought Hog Hill Mill in Icklesham
Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles (10 km) east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye, East Sussex, Rye road. The surround ...
in 1981.
After the recording studio expenses of recording his albums ''Tug of War
Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...
'' and ''Pipes of Peace
''Pipes of Peace'' is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, released on 31 October 1983. As the follow-up to the popular '' Tug of War'', the album came close to matching the commercial success of its predece ...
'', McCartney felt he could have built his own studio for the same amount. He converted the windmill on the property into a private recording studio, Hog Hill Mill, completed in 1985.
References
External links
Windmill World
Page on Windmill Hill Mill.
Further reading
Online version
{{Authority control
Post mills in the United Kingdom
Grinding mills in the United Kingdom
Buildings and structures completed in 1781
Windmills completed in the 18th century
Paul McCartney
Windmills in East Sussex
Icklesham