Ramsey Windmill 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 ...

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 Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

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 ...

which has been restored.

History

''Ramsey Windmill'' was originally built in

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It was the north westerly one of four mills on the Mill Hills shown on the 1838 tithe map. The mill was moved to Ramsey in 1842 by Henry Collins,

millwright A millwright is a craftsman or skilled tradesman who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mechanic'') ...

of Woodbridge. The mill was working until the Second World War, and then left to deteriorate until 1974 when the owner, Mr Michael Organ, set about restoring the mill. Members of the Suffolk Mills Group assisted with work on Ramsey Windmill between 1974 and 1978.

Description

''Ramsey Windmill'' is a post mill with a three-storey roundhouse. The mill was 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 ...

, similar to that seen 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 ...

today. It has four double Patent sails. There are 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 in the breast and a third pair in the tail.

Trestle and roundhouse

The trestle is of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. The main post is in length, square at its base. The mill was built with a roundhouse from the start. Having started life in Suffolk, and being moved by a Suffolk millwright, the normal practice from that county was followed, with the roundhouse having three storeys.

Body

The body of the mill measures by in plan. The mill is high overall. The Crowntree is square in section. The side girts are by in section.

Sails and Windshaft

''Ramsey Mill'' has 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 four double Patent sails.

Machinery

The wooden Head Wheel is of clasp arm construction, diameter, with 90 cogs of pitch. It drives two pairs of overdrift French Burr

s via a cast-iron Wallower and Spur Wheel. The cast-iron Tail Wheel is diameter. It drives a single pair of underdrift diameter millstones via an Upright Shaft and Spur wheel.

Fantail

''Ramsey Windmill'' was winded by a six-bladed roof-mounted fantail, which blew off in 1939. The drive was down the back of the mill and thence to a ring set above the join of the quarterbars to the main post.This is a departure from the normal practice, which is to drive the wheels that carry the external ladder at the back of the mill.

Millers

*Robert Brooks 1842 - 1870 *Robert Brooks Jr 1870 - *John Brooks 1887 - *L Lungley - 1937 *R M Scott 1939 *Lee Buchan 2013 References for above:-

External links

Windmill World
webpage on Ramsey Windmill.

References

{{EssexWindmills Post mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1842 Grade II* listed buildings in Essex Windmills in Essex Tendring Grade II* listed windmills