Buckland Windmill 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 Ir ...

smock mill 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 ...

at Buckland, Surrey,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

which has been restored to working order. It is the only surviving wind saw mill in the United Kingdom.

History

Buckland Windmill was built by William Cooper, the

Henfield Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. The ...

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 ...

, sometime in the 1860s or 1870s. It stands in the grounds of a house that was lived in by the

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...

s of the Buckland Court Estate. The windmill was discovered in 1995, with a mature

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus b ...

tree standing very close to it. When the owners contacted the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

for advice, they were surprised to find that it existed, because the mill had been missed by Ken Farries and Martin Mason, and omitted from their comprehensive work on windmills in the county.

Restoration

The restoration of the mill took place over a number of years, starting in 1995-97 when the building was repaired and made weatherproof. In 1999-2001 the cap frame was constructed and the sails refitted. From 2003, the mill was put into working order. The work was funded by grants from the BAA (Environmental Grants Scheme), at Gatwick, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rural Enterprise Scheme), Mole Valley District Council and Surrey Historic Buildings Trust. The millwrights were Tony Hole, of Dorothea Restorations and Vincent Pargeter, who was responsible for the sails. The restored mill turned by wind for the first time in February 2004.

Awards

The restoration of the mill was recognised by awards from the Surrey Historic Buildings Trust in March 2004 and the Surrey Industrial History Group in July 2004.

Description

Buckland Windmill is a small circular smock mill built on a two-storey building. It has a small cap and is powered by four Patent sails. The cap is winded by a fantail.

References

External links

Windmill World
webpage on Buckland mill. {{Surrey Windmills Industrial buildings completed in the 19th century Windmills in Surrey Smock mills in England Grade II listed buildings in Surrey Grade II listed windmills