The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type of windmill got its name from its resemblance to smocks worn by farmers in an earlier period. [1]
Smock mills differ from tower mills, which are usually cylindrical rather than hexagonal or octagonal, and built from brick or stone masonry instead of timber. The majority of smock mills are octagonal in plan, [1] with a lesser number hexagonal, such as Killick's Mill, Meopham. [2] A very small number of smock mills were decagonal or dodecagonal in plan, an example of the latter being at Wicken, Cambridgeshire. [3]
Smock mills exist in Europe and particularly in England, where they were common, particularly in the county of Kent, where the tallest surviving smock mill in the United Kingdom, Union Mill, can be found at Cranbrook. [4] They reached their heyday in the earlier part of the 19th century, after which the advent of steam power started the decline of the windmill. [5] The East End of Long Island has the greatest concentration of smock mills in the U.S., with Beebe Windmill, Hayground Windmill, Pantigo Windmill, Gardiner, Hook Windmill, Gardiner's Island, Watermill, National Links, Southampton/Shinnecock (Cottage), Shelter Island, Wainscott Windmill, four replicas, Little East Neck H.D., Southampton Mini Golf Hook mill, Corwith Farms and Amagansett -Reform Inn, and four cottages, Gin Lane, A.W.B.Wood House & Windmill (Montauk), Edwin DeRose and Quail Hill Farms (Deep Ln).
Designed by the civil engineer John Smeaton, Chimney Mill in Spital Tongues, Newcastle upon Tyne was the first five-sailed smock mill in Britain. [1] It was built in 1782 and is the only surviving smock mill in the North East region. However, the sails and original cap are no longer in place. [6]
The oldest surviving smock mill in England (dated to 1650) is located in Lacey Green, Buckinghamshire. The hexagonal mill has been restored by the Chiltern Society.[ citation needed ]
St Patrick's Tower in Dublin is believed to have once been the largest smock windmill in Europe. [7]
There are two operating smock mills in Massachusetts, one on Nantucket Island and one in Orleans.
"Old Mill" is the oldest functioning mill in the United States, built in 1746 by a Nantucket sailor who had spent time in Holland, Nathan Wilbur. It is the only survivor of four smock mills that once stood on Popsquachet ("windy hill" in the Wampanoag language) overlooking Nantucket town. Until late in the 19th century "Round-Top Mill" on the site of the present New North Cemetery joined them.
The Old Mill was in a derelict condition when it was sold for twenty dollars in 1828 to Jared Gardner for use as "firewood." Instead of dismantling it, Gardner, a carpenter by trade, restored the mill to working condition. It was sold again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia, a Portuguese miller of Azorean descent, who operated it for many years with his assistant Peter Hoy until it fell into disuse in 1892. In 1897 Miss Caroline French purchased the mill at an auction for $850 and donated it to the Nantucket Historical Association (NHA). The NHA restored it in 1937 and continues to maintain it, grind corn, and guide tours during the summer and early autumn.[ citation needed ]
The second operating smock mill is found in Orleans, on Cape Cod. It was erected about 1793 on Kendrick's Hill as Elisha Cook's Mill, on land that later became Orleans. In 1839 it was moved to Young's hill, and known as Jonathan Young's Mill after one of its five owners. In 1897 Captain Hunt, a wealthy seaman, bought it by oxen and barge to his estate in Hyannisport. Eventually the Gove family bought the Hunt property, and in 1983 gave the mill to the Orleans Historical Society, which donated it to the town of Orleans. It was disassembled, restored, and reassembled at its present site there. The site is open for visitors during the summer.
The East End of Long Island in New York is known for its numerous extant smock mills. These windmills, originating in the late 18th century, were primarily used for grain grinding. Characterized by their wooden coverings resembling smocks, these mills have evolved from agricultural necessities to important historical symbols, embodying the region's heritage. Today, they are often central to preservation efforts, reflecting their value beyond their original functional use. [8]
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but in some parts of the English-speaking world the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications. The term wind engine is also sometimes used to describe such devices.
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 are struts that steady the central post.
Wicken is a small village on the edge of The Fens near Soham in East Cambridgeshire, ten miles north east of Cambridge and five miles south of Ely. It is the site of Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve.
Wimbledon Windmill is a Grade II* listed windmill situated on Wimbledon Common in the London Borough of Merton, in the west of South London, and is preserved as a museum.
Spital Tongues is a district of Newcastle upon Tyne, located due north-west of the Newcastle City Centre. Its unusual name is believed to be derived from spital – a corruption of the word hospital, commonly found in British place names - and tongues, meaning outlying pieces of land. North of Spital Tongues is the Town Moor, while Castle Leazes and Leazes Park are to the East.
Cobstone Mill was built around 1816 on Turville Hill in Buckinghamshire, England, and overlooks the village of Turville. It is a smock mill that replaced the original mill that had stood there since the 16th century. The machinery was previously used in another mill in the village of Lacey Green.
This glossary of mill machinery covers the major pieces of machinery to be found in windmills, watermills and horse mills. It does not cover machinery found in modern factories.
Union Mill is a Grade I listed smock mill in Cranbrook, Kent, England, which has been restored to working order. It is the tallest smock mill in the United Kingdom.
Killick's Mill is a Grade II* listed smock mill in Meopham, Kent, England that was built in 1801 and which has been restored.
Lower Mill is a smock mill in Woodchurch, Kent, England that was built in 1820. It was a Scheduled Ancient Monument from 1976 to 1978, and remains a Grade II* listed building.
Blackdown Mill or Cherry Clack Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Punnetts Town, East Sussex, England, which has been restored.
West Blatchington Windmill is a Grade II* listed smock mill at West Blatchington, Brighton and Hove, in the historic county of Sussex, England which has been restored and is open to the public.
Wandsworth Common Windmill is a conserved grade II listed smock mill at Wandsworth Common, in the London Borough of Wandsworth in the United Kingdom.
The city of Canterbury in Kent, England has been served by mills over the centuries. These include animal engines, watermills and windmills.
Hook Windmill, also known as Old Hook Mill, is a historic windmill on North Main Street in East Hampton, New York. It was built in 1806 and operated regularly until 1908. One of the most complete of the existing windmills on Long Island, the windmill was sold to the town of East Hampton in 1922. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and is part of the North Main Street Historic District. The mill was renamed the "Old Hook Mill" and is open daily to visitors.
Corwith Windmill at Water Mill is a historic mill on NY 27 and Halsey Lane in Southampton, New York.
Terling Windmill is a grade II listed Smock mill at Terling, Essex, England, which has been converted to residential use.
The Old Mill is a historic windmill located at 50 Prospect Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Built in 1746, it is the oldest functioning mill in the United States. The mill is owned and operated by the Nantucket Historical Association as a museum. It is a contributing property of the Nantucket Historic District. In 1992, it was also designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The Pantigo Windmill is an octagonal smock mill in Easthampton on Long Island, New York. Bearing a 1771 weathervane on top, the James Lane structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as a contributing property of the East Hampton Village District.
