Rock Mill, Washington

*Washington Windmill*
Washington Windmill
	The mill in 2005
Origin
Mill name	Rock Mill
Grid reference	TQ 128 137
Coordinates	50°54′42″N0°23′48″W / 50.9117°N 0.3966°W Coordinates: 50°54′42″N0°23′48″W / 50.9117°N 0.3966°W
Operator(s)	Private
Year built	1823
Information
Purpose	Corn mill
Type	Smock mill
Storeys	Three store smock
Base storeys	Single-storey base
Smock sides	Eight sides
No. of sails	Four sails
Type of sails	Patent sails (missing)
Winding	Fantail (missing)
No. of pairs of millstones	Three pairs

Last updated September 25, 2019

Rock Mill is a Grade II listed ^[1] smock mill at Washington, West Sussex, England, which has been converted to residential use.

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, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded or thatched 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.

Washington is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located five miles (8 km) west of Steyning and three miles (4.8 km) east of Storrington on the A24 between Horsham and Worthing. The parish covers an area of 1,276 hectares. In the 2001 census 1,930 people lived in 703 households, of whom 820 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish was 1,867.

History

Rock Mill was built in 1823.^[2] The mill was working at the outbreak of the First World War but was converted to a house in about 1919, using the machinery as decoration.^[3] The composer John Ireland bought the mill in 1953^[2] and died there in 1962.^[4] As of 2007, the mill is used as offices.^[2]

World War I 1914–1918 global war starting in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the resulting 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer and teacher of music. The majority of his output consists of piano miniatures and of songs with piano. His best-known works include the short instrumental or orchestral work "The Holy Boy", a setting of the poem "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield, a formerly much-played Piano Concerto, the hymn tune Love Unknown and the choral motet "Greater Love Hath No Man".

Description

Rock Mill is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey base, formerly carrying a beehive cap winded by a fantail. It had four Patent sails and drove three pairs of millstones (two pairs French Burr and one pair of Peak stones).^[3]

A fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and perfected on mills around Leeds and Hull towards the end of the 18th century. Fantails are found on all types of traditional windmills and are especially useful where changes in wind direction are frequent. They are more common in England, Denmark and Germany than in other parts of Europe, and are little-known on windmills elsewhere except where English millwrighting traditions were in evidence.

Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.

Millers

Thomas Harwood, 1837^[3]
Henry Harwood, 1837-40^[3]
E. Mitchell, 1845-55^[3]
S.A. Coote, 1890^[3]

Related Research Articles

King's Mill or Vincent's Mill, Shipley, West Sussex, England, is a smock mill built in 1879 which has been restored and was open to the public until its closure on 19 July 2009.

Beacon Mill is a Grade II listed smock mill in Benenden, Kent, England which is in need of restoration. The mill has been out of use since 1923 and is privately owned.

Charing Windmill is a Grade II listed house converted smock mill on Charing Hill in Kent in southeast England. It is sometimes known as Field Mill, but that name was also used by a watermill in Charing.

Upper Mill is a Grade II listed house converted smock mill in Eastry, Kent, England. It was built in the mid eighteenth century.

Herne Windmill is a Grade I listed smock mill in Herne, Kent, England, that was built in 1789.

Draper's Windmill or Old Mill is a Grade II listed Smock mill in Margate, Kent, England that was built in 1845.

Killick's Mill is a Grade II* listed Smock mill in Meopham, Kent, England that was built in 1801 and which has been restored.

New Mill is a Grade II listed smock mill in Northbourne, Kent, England that was built in 1848 and which has been converted to residential accommodation.

Ripple Windmill is a Grade II listed smock mill in Ringwould, Kent, England, that was built in Drellingore and moved to Ringwould in the early nineteenth century. Having been stripped of machinery and used as a television mast, it is now under restoration as a working windmill.

Black Mill, or Borstal Hill Mill is a smock mill in Whitstable, Kent, England that was built in 1815. It is now a part of a private residence at the end of Millers Court.

Lower Mill is a smock mill in Woodchurch, Kent, England that was built in 1820. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building.

Great Mill or Ride's Mill is a Grade II listed smock mill just off the High Street in Sheerness, Kent, England, that was demolished in 1924, and now has a new smock tower built on it as residential accommodation.

King's Head Mill or Caldbec Hill Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Battle, Sussex, England, which has been converted to residential accommodation.

Heritage Mill, or Beard's Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at North Chailey, Sussex, England, which is maintained as a landmark and open to the public.

Somerley Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Earnley, Sussex, England, which is under restoration.

Blackdown Mill or Cherry Clack Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Punnetts Town, East Sussex, England, which has been restored.

Beacon Mill or New Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at Rottingdean, Sussex, England which has been restored as a seamark.

Gibbet Mill, Tillingham Mill, Barry's Mill or New Mill is a grade II listed cosmetically reconstructed smock mill at Rye, East Sussex, England. Today it serves as bed and breakfast accommodation.

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.

Meeten's Mill is a grade II listed smock mill at West Chiltington, Sussex, England, which has been converted to residential use.

References

↑ Historic England. "ROCK WINDMILL, ROCK LANE, WASHINGTON, HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX (1354092)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2008-11-04.
1 2 3 "Rock Mill". Washington village. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Brunarrius, Martin (1979). The Windmills of Sussex. London & Chichester: Phillimore. pp. 126–127. ISBN 0-85033-345-8.
↑ "The Songs of John Ireland". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 2008-11-04.

External links

Windmill World webpage on Rock Mill.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[EH-1] Historic England. "ROCK WINDMILL, ROCK LANE, WASHINGTON, HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX (1354092)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2008-11-04.

[Wash-2] 1 2 3 "Rock Mill". Washington village. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-04.

[Brun-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brunarrius, Martin (1979). The Windmills of Sussex. London & Chichester: Phillimore. pp. 126–127. ISBN 0-85033-345-8.

[Ireland-4] "The Songs of John Ireland". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 2008-11-04.

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