Stocks Mill is a

Grade II* 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 I ...

listed post mill in

Wittersham Wittersham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It is part of the Isle of Oxney. History The Domesday Book of 1086 does not mention Wittersham, but it does assign the manor of Palstre to Odo, Bishop ...

on the

Isle of Oxney Isle of Oxney is an area in Kent, England, close to the boundary with East Sussex. Up to the 13th century, the island was part of the coastline bordering what is now the Romney Marsh. As that silted up, and until the later 17th century, the Ri ...

, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

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 preserved.

History

Probably built around 1781, it was named ''Stocks Mill'' after the village

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

that stood nearby. The mill may be older and may have been moved from

Stone in Oxney Stone in Oxney is a village south of Ashford in Kent, South East England, in the civil parish of Stone-cum-Ebony near Appledore. The village is south east of Tenterden, and stands in a position on the eastern side of the Isle of Oxney. The st ...

, with the date 1781 carved into the main post denoting its re-erection. The Mill House was at one time used as the parish

Poorhouse A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

. The mill was last worked circa 1900, and was then preserved by

Norman Forbes-Robertson Norman Forbes-Robertson (24 September 1858 – 28 September 1932), known professionally as Norman Forbes, was an English actor and art dealer. He was the brother of actor Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson and a friend of Ellen Terry, Oscar Wilde, E ...

, who owned the mill and Mill House. The mill passed into the ownership of the artist Randolph H Sauter. and then Sir Edward Parry. The mill was repaired in 1958, and in 1968 a new stock and pair of sails was fitted by 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 ...

Derek Ogden. In 1980, the mill was acquired by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the non-metropolitan county, county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 non-metropolitan district, district councils, and around ...

and the Friends of Stocks Mill was set up to allow the mill to be opened to the public. The mill underwent a restoration programme starting in 2002 and partly funded by the National Lottery, which included two new sails amongst other work. Some of the milling machinery which had been removed over the years was recreated. The mill was reopened to the public in 2004.

Description

Stocks Mill is a post mill on a single storey roundhouse. It has four Spring sails mounted on a wooden windshaft with a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impu ...

poll end. This carries a diameter wooden Head Wheel with 120 cogs, and a diameter Tail Wheel. The mill drove two pairs of millstones.

Millers

*Thomas Venus 1772 - 1786 *Henry Munk 1786 *Thomas Howards 1792 *Turner 1825 - 1831 *Richard Parton 1838 *John Grampton 1841 *William Grampton 1841 *William Proctor 1851 *John Spilstead 1851 *Patric Cummins 1851 - 1861 *George Weller 1856 *Robert Parton *Peter Parton *G Burch *H S Hyland *S Birch *Thomas W Collard 1870 *John Holdstock 1889 (owner, miller?) *Pilbeam 1892 (occupier, miller?) References for above:-

References

External links

Windmill World page
on the mill.

{{Kent Windmills Windmills in Kent Post mills in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in Kent Windmills completed in 1781 Museums in the Borough of Ashford Mill museums in England