John Webb's Windmill
Encyclopedia
John Webb’s or Lowe’s Mill is a grade II* listed Tower mill
at Thaxted
, Essex
, England
, which had been restored to working order, but is currently out of action following the loss of a sail in April 2010.
. It was constructed using local materials, with timber from two local farms and the bricks were made at a nearby location in the Chelmer Valley
also owned by John Webb.
The mill was always worked by millers named Lowe or John Webb, thus gaining its names. The mill was last worked commercially in 1910. The mill was disused for over twenty years until the Thaxted Civic Trust carried out essential repairs and made the structure waterproof. The lower floors were used as a scout hut
. The mill passed into the ownership of Thaxted Parish Council in the 1950s. The Thaxted Society, formed in 1964, has been instrumental in the restoration of the mill to full working order.
In 2004, the cap and sails were removed to enable repairs to the brickwork at the top of the tower. The repairs were completed by the end of the year. The mill was officially reopened on 8 April 2005 by Lord Petre
. On 5 April 2010, the stock of one pair of sails broke, and the sail crashed to the ground, damaging the stage as it fell. There were no injuries among the six or seven visitors in the mill at the time. On the ground and first floors there is a rural museum containing agricultural
artifacts.
. There is a stage at first floor level. The tower is 24 feet (7.32 m) diameter at base level and 15 feet (4.57 m) diameter at curb level. The tower is 48 in 6 in (14.78 m) high, having been raised by some 4 feet (1.22 m) at some time. The mill is 54 feet (16.46 m) high to the top of the cap. The brickwork is 4 feet (1.22 m) thick at ground level and 18 inches (457.2 mm) thick at curb level.
The cast iron
windshaft carries a clasp arm brake wheel with 88 cogs. It drives a wooden wallower with 50 cogs carried on a cast iron upright shaft. The 8 in 10 in (2.69 m) clasp arm great spur wheel has 122 cogs and drives three stone nuts – two with 19 cogs and the third with 20 cogs. The millstone
s are 5 feet (1.52 m), 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) and 4 in 3 in (1.3 m) diameter.
As built, John Webb’s Mill had a wooden windshaft some 18 inches (457.2 mm) longer than the present one, carrying four Common sails. It drove two pairs of millstones, the third pair being added at a later date. In 1890, the mill was carrying four double Patent sails and by the early 1900s was working on two double Patent sails and two single Patent sails.
References for above:-
Tower mill
A tower mill is a type of windmill which consists of a brick or stone tower, on top of which sits a roof or cap which can be turned to bring the sails into the wind....
at Thaxted
Thaxted
Thaxted is a town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, with about 2,500 inhabitants.-History:Thaxted appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Tachesteda, Old English for "place where thatch was got." Once a centre of cutlery manufacture, Thaxted went into decline with the rise of Sheffield...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which had been restored to working order, but is currently out of action following the loss of a sail in April 2010.
History
John Webb's Mill or Lowe's Mill was built in 1804 for John Webb, a local farmer and landowner. The windmill was constructed to satisfy the increasing demand for flour both locally and in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was constructed using local materials, with timber from two local farms and the bricks were made at a nearby location in the Chelmer Valley
River Chelmer
The River Chelmer is a river that flows entirely through the county of Essex, England.The source of the river is near Debden Green, a village near Thaxted. The source of the River Can is also nearby. The River Chelmer flows past Thaxted, south through the district of Uttlesford around the...
also owned by John Webb.
The mill was always worked by millers named Lowe or John Webb, thus gaining its names. The mill was last worked commercially in 1910. The mill was disused for over twenty years until the Thaxted Civic Trust carried out essential repairs and made the structure waterproof. The lower floors were used as a scout hut
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
. The mill passed into the ownership of Thaxted Parish Council in the 1950s. The Thaxted Society, formed in 1964, has been instrumental in the restoration of the mill to full working order.
In 2004, the cap and sails were removed to enable repairs to the brickwork at the top of the tower. The repairs were completed by the end of the year. The mill was officially reopened on 8 April 2005 by Lord Petre
John Petre, 18th Baron Petre
John Patrick Lionel Petre, 18th Baron Petre of Ingatestone, Essex, England, is the currently appointed Lord Lieutenant of Essex and took up his duties upon the retirement of Robin Henry Charles Neville, 10th Baron Braybrooke in October 2002. He is also the 18th Baron of the Catholic Petre...
. On 5 April 2010, the stock of one pair of sails broke, and the sail crashed to the ground, damaging the stage as it fell. There were no injuries among the six or seven visitors in the mill at the time. On the ground and first floors there is a rural museum containing agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
artifacts.
Description
John Webb’s Mill is a five storey tower mill with a domed cap with a gallery. The cap is winded by an eight blade fantailWindmill fantail
A Fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and perfected on mills...
. There is a stage at first floor level. The tower is 24 feet (7.32 m) diameter at base level and 15 feet (4.57 m) diameter at curb level. The tower is 48 in 6 in (14.78 m) high, having been raised by some 4 feet (1.22 m) at some time. The mill is 54 feet (16.46 m) high to the top of the cap. The brickwork is 4 feet (1.22 m) thick at ground level and 18 inches (457.2 mm) thick at curb level.
The cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
windshaft carries a clasp arm brake wheel with 88 cogs. It drives a wooden wallower with 50 cogs carried on a cast iron upright shaft. The 8 in 10 in (2.69 m) clasp arm great spur wheel has 122 cogs and drives three stone nuts – two with 19 cogs and the third with 20 cogs. The millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s are 5 feet (1.52 m), 4 in 6 in (1.37 m) and 4 in 3 in (1.3 m) diameter.
As built, John Webb’s Mill had a wooden windshaft some 18 inches (457.2 mm) longer than the present one, carrying four Common sails. It drove two pairs of millstones, the third pair being added at a later date. In 1890, the mill was carrying four double Patent sails and by the early 1900s was working on two double Patent sails and two single Patent sails.
Millers
- John Webb 1823
- Lowe 1837
- John Webb 1848 - 1853
- Harry Lowe 1907 - 1910
References for above:-
Public access
John Webb's Mill is open in the afternoon on weekends and Bank Holidays from Easter to September and at other times by appointment.External links
- Windmill World webpage on John Webb’s Mill