Great Mill, Sheerness
{{Short description|Windmill in Sheerness, Kent, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Windmill
|name = Great Mill, Sheerness
|image = Sheerness mill base.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = The base in 2003
|name_of_mill = Great Mill
Ride's Mill
|location_of_mill =
|gbgridref = TQ 921 746
|coordinates = {{coord |51|26|19.3|N|0|45|45.4|E|type:landmark_region:GB-KEN|display=inline,title}}
|operator =
|built = 1816
|purpose = Corn mill
|type = Smock mill
|storeys = Four-storey smock
|base_storeys = Two-storey base
|roundhouse_storeys =
|smock_sides =
|sail_number = Four
|sail_type = Patent sails
|windshaft =
|winding = Hand winded
|fantail_blades =
|auxpower = Steam engine 1889 - 1918
|pairs_of_millstones= Three pairs
|stone_size =
|saw_type =
|pump_type =
|scoop_dia =
|lost = 1924
|other = A new smock has been built on the surviving base to serve as residential accommodation.
}}
Great Mill or Ride
History
Work on building the Great mill was started by the millwright Humphrey of Cranbrook in 1813. Owing to the nature of the ground the mill was built on it was necessary to lay deep foundations. Lack of funds meant that the mill was left as an unfinished base for a couple of years before Thomas Webb, who owned the Little Mill, bought the unfinished mill and financed its completion in 1816. A steam engine was added in 1889 as auxiliary power. The mill was worked by wind until 1905, when the sails and stage were removed. It worked by steam engine until 1918, and was demolished in 1924. The mill's brick base was left, serving as a corn store in the 1930s.{{cite book | first = William| last = Coles Finch| author-link=William Coles Finch| year = 1933| title = Watermills and Windmills| pages = 275–76| publisher = C W Daniel Company| location = London}}
File:Great Mill, Sheerness, Kent (18939986736).jpgIn 2006, planning permission was applied for, and granted, to convert the existing mill base into a flat, with a new smock tower built on the base containing another flat, and an extension containing a third flat. Construction started late in 2006.{{cite web| url= http://www.windmillworld.com/millid/2734.htm| publisher = Windmill World| title = Sheerness windmill, Kent| access-date= 22 April 2008}} The replica windmill will have a stage and dummy sails.{{cite web| url= http://www.windmillworld.com/news/archive25.htm#606| publisher= Windmill World| title= Ride's Mill, Sheeerness conversion| access-date= 22 April 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080509124011/http://www.windmillworld.com/news/archive25.htm#606| archive-date= 9 May 2008| url-status= dead}} The cap was lifted onto the mill tower late in 2007.{{cite web| url= http://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=37884| publisher = Kent Messenger| title = Fire at historic windmill 'not {{as written|susp|icous' [sic]}}| access-date= 22 April 2008 }} On 23 January 2008 a fire started in the mill tower.{{cite web| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7207555.stm| publisher = BBC News Online| title = Fire rips through town's windmill| access-date= 22 April 2008 | date=24 January 2008}} The fire was later declared not to have been a case of arson.{{cite web| url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/fire-at-historic-windmill-not-s-a34908/ | publisher= Kent Online | title= Fire at historic windmill 'not {{as written|susp|icous' [sic]}} |date=31 January 2008| access-date= 23 October 2017}}
Description
{{for|a description of the machinery|Mill machinery}}
Great Mill was a four-storey smock mill on a two-storey brick base, with a Kentish-style cap carrying four patent sails. It was winded by hand, no fantail being fitted. There was a stage at second-floor level. The mill drove three pairs of millstones, and the steam engine drove a further two pairs, as well as the millstones in the windmill. The mill was {{convert|66|ft|m|2}} high, and the brickwork in the base is {{convert|22|in|mm}} thick. The replica has a smock built on a steel frame, with a Kentish-style cap.
Millers
- Thomas Webb 1816 – 1864
- G Ride & Son 1864 – 1918
References for above:-{{cite web|url=http://www.millarchive.com/kent/millpeople/Kent%20Mill%20People.htm |publisher=The Mills Archive Trust |title=Directory of Kent Mill People |access-date=22 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416174906/http://www.millarchive.com/kent/millpeople/Kent%20Mill%20People.htm |archive-date=16 April 2009 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.windmillworld.com/millid/2734.htm Windmill World page] on the mill.
{{Kent Windmills}}
Category:Grinding mills in the United Kingdom
Category:Smock mills in England
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Kent
Category:Windmills completed in 1816
Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Kent
Category:Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom