Nutley Windmill

Nutley Windmill is a grade II* listed[1] open trestle post mill at Nutley, East Sussex, England which has been restored to working order.

Nutley Mill
The mill in 2005
Origin
Grid reference	TQ 451 291
Coordinates	51°02′35″N 0°04′05″E
Operator(s)	Uckfield and District Preservation Society
Year built	Early nineteenth century
Information
Purpose	Corn mill
Type	Open Trestle post mill
No. of sails	Four
Type of sails	Two Common sails, two Spring sails
Windshaft	Cast iron
Winding	Tailpole
No. of pairs of millstones	Two pairs, arranged Head and Tail

History

Nutley Windmill is thought to have been moved from Kilndown, Goudhurst, Kent circa 1817.[2] The first record of a windmill at Nutley is in 1840.[3] A timber in the mill has been dated by dendrochronology to 1738-70, and the main post is even older, dating to 1533-70.[2] In 1870, the mill was painted white and working on four common sails. The mill was modernised in the 1880s, with the original wooden windshaft being replaced by a cast iron one, and spring sails replacing the commons. Larger millstones were added. The mill was tarred at about this point, as shown by a photo dated 1890.[4] She worked by wind until 1908, although latterly in poor condition. In 1928, the owner of the mill, Lady Castle Stewart, had the mill shored up with brick piers and steel joists below the body. These allowed the mill to survive until she could be restored.[3]

Restoration started in 1968,[5] The mill turned by wind again in 1971, and ground grain again in 1972.[6] In 1975, Nutley Windmill was given to the Uckfield and District Preservation Society by Lady Castle Stewart.[7]

The Windmill is featured in the 1976 concert film The Song Remains the Same, featuring the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the location for the night time fantasy scene starring Led Zeppelin's Bass and Keyboard Player John Paul Jones.[8] A stock broke in 1984, while filming was being done for the children's TV programme Chocky's Children for Thames Television. A new one was fitted a week later with aid from Thames. The mill was damaged in the Great Storm of 1987, with over £6,000 worth of damage incurred. New rear steps were fitted to the mill in 1994/5, the work funded by a grant from British Telecom. Repairs to the trestle and head wheel in 1998 allowed the head stones to be worked for the first time since the mill stopped work.[9] New sails were fitted to the mill in 2008.. Nutley Windmill featured on a postage stamp that was issued by the Royal Mail on 20 June 2017.[10]

Description

The windmill with sails closed

Nutley Windmill is an open trestle post mill. She has two common sails and two spring sails carried on a cast iron windshaft and is winded by a tailpole. The mill drives two pairs of millstones, arranged head and tail. The wooden head wheel and tail wheel are 7 feet (2.13 m) diameter each. Both have been converted from compass arm to clasp arm construction. The body of the mill is 15 feet (4.57 m) long and 10 feet (3.05 m) wide.[3]

Millers

• Henry Setford 1840
• James Martin 1845
• Luke Godley 1851
• B Martin 1862 - 1874
• William Taylor 1874 - 1908

References for above:-[3]

See also

References

1. Historic England. "NUTLEY WINDMILL, MARESFIELD, WEALDEN, EAST SUSSEX (1353574)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
2. "Nutley windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
3. Brunnarius, Martin (1979). The Windmills of Sussex. Chichester: Philimore. pp. 52–54, 189. ISBN 0-85033-345-8.
4. "Nutley windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
5. "Nutley windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
6. "Nutley windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
7. "Nutley windmill". Sussex Mills Group. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
8. "JOHN PAUL JONES SONG REMAINS THE SAME - FILMING LOCATIONS IN 2020". Led Zeppelin Forum. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
9. "Restoration". Uckfield & District Preservation Society. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
10. "Nutley Windmill to feature on set of stamps". Crowborough Life. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.

External links

• Visiting information
• Windmill World Page on Nutley Windmill.
• Uckfield & District Preservation Society's website

Further reading

Hemming, Peter (1936). Windmills in Sussex. London: C W Daniel. Online version