Summary
Tower mill. Built in 1851 by millwright John Hill of Ashford. Alterations in late C20.
An adjoining brick wall and arch, a modern house to the east, and a relocated K6 telephone kiosk are excluded from the listing.
Reasons for Designation
Stanford Windmill, a brick tower mill built by the millwright John Hill in 1851 is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Degree of survival: the original mill machinery and fittings, although not complete, survive to a degree now rare in unrestored windmills;
* Architectural interest: for its unusual two-stage design and buttressing and the rare carved inscription on one of the beams commemorating its date and builder;
* Rarity: as the best-preserved example of only eight surviving tower mills in Kent, a county with a stronger tradition of timber smock mills.
History
The tower windmill at Stanford was built for John Hogben by the millwright John Hill of Ashford in 1851. Hill’s firm was one of the largest in the area and was responsible for building many windmills and watermills in Kent and Sussex. After a succession of millers during the C19, in 1913 Henry Taylor took possession. The mill suffered minor damage during the First World War when a bomb fell nearby. In 1927 a single-cylinder oil engine was fitted to power the stones when the wind was insufficient; this was replaced by a Rushton and Hornsby diesel engine in 1938. In 1946 the shutters were removed from the sweeps, the fan was removed and the mill was powered solely by the diesel engine. Having been bought by M Hancock and Son in 1959, in 1961 the sweeps and fanstage were entirely removed and the timber cap roof was replaced by corrugated asbestos-cement sheets. Milling continued using electric power until it ceased to operate in 1969. Subsequently the timber gallery was removed and some machinery sold to Draper’s Mill, Margate which was being restored at the time. In the 1990s the area surrounding the mill was developed for housing.
Details
Tower mill built in 1851 by the millwright, John Hill of Ashford.
MATERIALS: yellow and pale red stock brick laid in English bond. The upper level retains the tarred finish which has been removed from the base.
PLAN: cylindrical base containing the first two floors and a tapering upper section surmounted by a timber-framed, boat-shaped cap.
EXTERIOR: the lower part has eight, two-stage buttresses with sandstone capping which formerly supported the timber gallery (or stage) at second-floor level. The cap has corrugated asbestos-cement cladding and the sweeps and fanstage have been removed. The fenestration is of small four-centred arched windows with sandstone stone sills and brick ’eyebrow’ drip mouldings. The openings contain cast-iron casements, those to the lower floors with twelve panes, the upper ones having nine. The ground floor entrance is to the north and has a shallow brick arch and a batten door. There were additional doors at first and second floor level. The first-floor door was for hoisting grain sacks and the opposed second-floor doors gave access to the gallery. The first-floor door survives, the two second-floor doors have been converted to windows with square-headed timber casements.
INTERIOR: the mill has five floors. These include, from the top, the Dust floor, Bin floor, Stone floor and Spout floor. The floors are supported on heavy frames of Baltic pine, the Stone floor being reinforced with iron stanchions. One of the beams supporting the Stone floor bears the inscription ‘ BUILT BY/ JOHN HOGBEN/ HILL MAY 1851 MILLWht’. Each floor has a sack hoist trapdoor set vertically above the ones below.
MACHINERY: although incomplete, significant surviving elements of the machinery remain. These include the curb (circular track on which the cap rotates); the brake wheel and wind shaft; wallower; upright shaft; great spur wheel and stone and machine nuts and shafts; tentering gear and grain/meal/dresser bins and chutes. Most of the machinery is of cast-iron. Two pairs of millstones remain, one of flinty quartz (French Burr) for flour and one of Millstone Grit (Derbyshire Peak) for animal feed. The enclosing timber tuns and hoppers have been lost.
The windmill is adjoined by a brick wall and arch connecting it to a modern house to the east. A relocated K6 telephone kiosk is located at the foot of the windmill to the north-west. All these structures are excluded from the listing.
