Surrey

The windmill is most likely to have been built in the 1860-1870 period. This build date is confirmed by the plaque detailing ‘W Cooper of Henfield’ who operated as a millwright from 1854-1876. We can assume that the windmill was disused by 1892 (when the more efficient steam engine was purchased to saw the wood), so if the windmill ever worked, it would have been for a very short period.

Standing on a shallow brick foundation, the mill is a 3 x 3 metre, two storey structure with a flat lead roof, from which rises a tapered round tower to a height of 3 metres.

The overall height to the top of the sails is just 12 metres, tiny in comparison with more typical corn grinding mills. Wooden ladder staircases rise to the first floor and the doors in the turret which give access to the flat lead roof. Maintenance is carried out from the flat roof. One of the two chains is for opening & closing the shutters on the sails, and the second for winding the cap to an accessible position for fantail maintenance. The rope releases the brake on the sails.

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