Ramsey Windmill is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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 ...

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. 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 craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

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 " ...

, similar to that seen at

Icklesham Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the 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 road. The surrounding countryside is a made up of f ...

today. It has four double

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 ...

. There are two 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 in the breast and a third pair in the tail.

Trestle and roundhouse

The trestle is of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. 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 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 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