Wray Common Mill 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 ...

tower mill at Reigate,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England which has been converted to residential use.

History

Wray Common Mill was built in 1824. The mill was worked by wind until 1895 when an accident resulted in a broken sail. The mill had a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

, later replaced by an oil engine, as auxiliary power. The shutters were removed from the sails c.1900. The condition of the sails rapidly deteriorated and a new set was fitted in 1928 by Thomas Hunt, the Soham

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 ...

. At this time all machinery except the Windshaft and Brake Wheel was removed.

Residential Use

Wray Common Mill was converted into residential accommodation in 1967. The mill fell into a state of disrepair in the late 1990s, and a new owner started restoration in 2004. It now features four bedrooms, a large kitchen, reception and a wine cellar. It was listed for sale in November 2008 for £995,000.

Restoration

The cap was removed on 26 August 2004. A new cap was constructed, the building stripped to a bare shell and defects made good, the old tar was stripped, and a new coat applied to the exterior of the tower. The new cap was craned onto the mill in 2005. An application for Listed Building permission to replace the sails was made in 2006. The sails were fitted in December 2007, the restoration of the mill's external appearance to more closely match the mill in its working days was done in consultation of Bonwick Milling Heritage Consultancy. In a break with tradition, a modern method of producing laminated timber beams was used in making the sails. As a result of the work, the mill was removed from the Buildings at Risk Register in 2006.

Description

Wray Common Mill is a five-storey brick tower mill with an ogee cap with a gallery. It has four double Patent sails carried on a cast iron windshaft. The cap is winded by a fantail. The cast iron Brake Wheel alone remains of the machinery, although it is known that the

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 were driven overdrift. The tower is diameter at the base and diameter at the curb, and high to the curb.

Millers

*Joseph Coulstock 1824–1832 *Edward LArmer c1850 *Robert Budgen 1855–1857 *Joseph Henry Cooke 1874 *Mrs M Cooke 1895

References

{{Surrey Windmills Tower mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1824 Grade II* listed buildings in Surrey Windmills in Surrey Grade II* listed windmills Reigate