The Mills Archive

Animals were first used to turn millstones in Greece and Italy in the 4th century BC. The ‘hour-glass’ or Pompeiian mill, turned by a donkey or horse, was probably the earliest form of powered mill to be used in Britain, introduced by the Romans in the 1st century AD.

These mills were a technological advance on the older hand operated rotary querns and were perhaps ten times as efficient. They consisted of a conical lower stone and an hourglass shaped upper stone which rotated above it. A wooden structure was attached via the rectangular holes on each side of the hourglass. Contemporary reliefs show donkeys harnessed to the wooden poles, although it seems possible humans may have worked the mill in some cases.

The earliest known example of this type of mill was recovered from a fourth century BC shipwreck off the coast of Majorca. Mills of this design were also used in mines to crush ore; this may have been their original function before the technology was adapted to flour milling.

1. Animal powered Pompeiian Mill. Photographed by Sue Watts, 2016. SWAT-008
2. Mill and bakery in Pompeii. Drawing c. 1800. MWAT-035
3. 3D Diagram of an hourglass mill excavated at Princes' Street in London. Drawn by John Kenneth Major. JKMC-DRW-23-007

Looking up at Cranbrook.
EMGC-05-02-18

William Coles Finch's 'Vanishing Mills of Rochester'.
Undated postcard.

The mills in and around Rochester all except Delce Mill are derelict or disappeared 1926.

From the Rex Wailes Collection.

An engraving of the Foord Valley Railway Viaduct in Folkestone, designed by Sir William Cubitt and built in 1843, in just six months!
See if you can spot the windmill and watermill in the foreground.

First refurbished sail ready for Heage Windmill. 2002.
Dave Hunter. GIFF-HWS-04-24
Alan Gifford comments: "The first sail to be fitted is lifted, note all shutters were fitted but were closed - this gave problems in the breeze."

The derelict Little Weldon Mill. Northamptonshire.
9 January 1914.

Enjoy the solar eclipse this evening, make sure not to look at the sun, and keep your eyes safe! 😎

1. Miss Emilie Montgomery Gardner in front of a row of millstones at a watermill at Llecheiddior situated in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. June 1951.
EMGC-04-25-28

An American-born British photographer, she studied at Newnham College in Cambridge, and was a British Suffragist. An avid watermill enthusiast, she was responsible for the expansion of SPAB’s Windmill Section in 1946 to include watermills despite initial resistance by SPAB. It eventually became the Wind and Watermill Section in 1946. She served on the Committee of the Section from 1951 to 1959.

2. Frozen waterwheel. EMGC-05-07-105
3. Mill Near Dolgelley Dyffrydan. EMGC-05-10-47
4. Horse Mill, Foale Leigh, Harberton. EMGC-05-05-28
5.New flood gates, Terwick Mill, Rogate. 1949. EMGC-17890

We're still accepting submissions for our Mills Archive Trust Children's Poetry Competition until August 14th, giving young minds aged 11-17 more time to shine!
If you're bored this summer, why not give writing poetry a go!

To submit your entry, including up to 5 poems, follow the link: https://millsarchive.org/poetry-competition/.

This is your chance to craft original, unpublished poems that celebrate the magic of milling - from windmills and watermills to the lives of millers and the landscapes they shaped.

Local poet and author Dr. Katherine Meehan will select the winning poems, which will be featured in the next edition of Mill Memories, our newsletter, and social media channels!

Let your imagination run wild, and happy writing!

Photos taken of a couple poems in the David Baddeley Mill Poetry Collection. There are well over a hundred poems in this one box, transcribed by hand, it is a treat to explore. If you're interested, you can visit the Archive and read through these poems yourself!

Cubitt's patent sails being fitted at Davison's Mill in Stelling Minnis, 1935.

Before 1807, operating a windmill in stormy weather could be hazardous. When the speed of the wind picks ups, it can make the sails speed up, but this isn't ideal. Maintaining a constant rotational speed prevented the heavy millstones from overheating or clogging with grain, ensuring a consistent grind without risking mechanical failure. To ensure a steady rate of rotation, the miller would have had to manually stop the mill, then climb up to the sails to adjust the sail cloth.

Sir William Cubitt resolved this by combining two earlier inventions, Andrew Meikle’s hinged wooden louvres (1772) and Captain Robert Hooper’s remote adjustment gear (1789), into a single self-regulating system.

It was worked by chain from the ground via a rod passing through a hole drilled through the windshaft... kind of like an umbrella. By varying the weights hung on the chain, you could open or close the shutter without stopping the mill. It was designed to achieve a fairly constant speed irrespective of the wind force.
Once the gust subsided, the weight automatically pulled the shutters closed, maintaining steady output without interrupting operation or risking human life.

Last day to enter your poems!

You have until tomorrow* to submit your entries for our Poetry Competition.
🔗 millsarchive.org/poetry-competition/

It has been a pleasure to receive numerous submissions and hear from individuals inspired by poems that have sparked their creativity or ignited new ideas. Our objective with this competition was to encourage reflection on 'milling', and we are thrilled with the outstanding response we've received so far.

So if you haven't entered yet, you still have time! Why not give it a go?

*The children's category has been extended until 14th August.