White Roding Windmill is a Grade II listed preserved

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

at White Roding,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England.

History

White Roding Windmill was built in 1877, replacing a post mill which had stood on the site since 1609. The post mill was destroyed on 1 January 1877 when the main post broke in a gale as the miller had too much cloth spread on the Common sails. A new tower mill was built by Whitmore's the Wickham Market,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

millwrights to replace the post mill. The mill worked by wind until 1926, and then by engine until 1931. The lease on the mill expired that year and was not renewed. In 1937, the mill was purchased by the actor Michael Redgrave, passing to a company in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

in 1946. During the 1950s, the mill was derelict and threatened with demolition on more than one occasion. In the 1970s, millwrights Philip Barrett-Lennard and Vincent Pargeter built a new cap for the mill.

Description

White Roding windmill is a five-storey brick tower mill which had an ogee cap winded by a six bladed Fantail. It had four Patent sails carried on a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

windshaft. The only remaining piece of machinery is the Brake Wheel, which is diameter with 115 cogs. All other machinery was removed shortly after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The tower is high, diameter at the base and diameter at the curb. The walls are thick at the base. The mill is to the top of the cap. The mill drove two pairs of underdrift millstones.

Millers

*George Wilson 1830–1839 (post mill) *William Portway 1845–1848 *John Dixon 1850 *Benjamin Roast 1855–1877 *Benjamin Roast 1877–1890 (tower mill) *William and Frank Roast 1890–1917 *William Garner and Sons 1917 - 1936 Reference for above:-

References

External links

*
Windmill World
webpage on White Roding Windmill. {{EssexWindmills Windmills in Essex History of Essex Grade II listed buildings in Essex Tower mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1877 Buildings and structures in Uttlesford Grade II listed windmills 1877 establishments in England