Church End Mill, Great Dunmow facts for kids

Church End Mill is a special old building called a Tower mill located in Great Dunmow, Essex, England. It's so important that it's a "grade II listed" building, meaning it's protected because of its history. Today, it's not used for grinding grain anymore; it has been turned into a home.

History of Church End Mill

Church End Mill was built in 1822 by William Redington. He was a miller from Harlow. The mill was built for a person named John Fuller.

The mill used some parts from an older smock mill. We don't know where these old parts came from. Building the mill cost £564, 10 shillings, and 6 pence. That was a lot of money back then!

In 1840, the mill got some new parts. These included a strong cast iron windshaft and special Patent sails. But less than three months later, on November 13, a big storm hit. The windshaft broke, and the sails fell onto the buildings next to the mill.

John Fuller owned the mill until he passed away in 1887. After 1894, the mill didn't do much work. It stopped grinding grain around 1902, and its sails were taken off.

By 1907, the mill was being used as an art studio. During World War II, it became an observation post. This means people used it to watch for enemy planes. By then, the top part of the mill, called the cap, had been removed.

In 1974, a millwright named Philip Barrett-Lennard put a new cap on the mill. A millwright is someone who builds and repairs windmills. Today, Church End Mill has been changed into a house. All the old machinery inside is gone.

What Church End Mill Looked Like

Church End Mill is a Tower mill. This means it has a tall, round stone tower. It has four floors and a cone-shaped roof called a cap. On top of the cap, there's a round decoration called a ball finial.

The mill had four special sails called Patent sails. These sails were connected to a strong cast-iron windshaft. A six-bladed fantail helped the mill turn to face the wind. The fantail is like a small windmill on the back of the cap.

The tower is about 40 feet (12 meters) tall up to the curb level. At the bottom, it's about 20 feet (6 meters) wide. At the top, where the cap sits, it's about 10 feet (3 meters) wide. The brick walls at the bottom are about 2 feet 3 inches (685 mm) thick.

There was a platform, or stage, around the mill at the first-floor level. This was probably used for maintenance.

The mill used to have two pairs of French Burr millstones. These stones were used to grind grain into flour. They were powered by the wind. Later, a third pair of millstones was added. These were powered by a steam engine when the mill was getting older.

When it was first built, the mill had an oak windshaft. This was a large wooden beam. It was about 23 inches (584 mm) square at one end and 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 meters) long. It held four simpler sails called Common sails. These sails had cloths that were about 30 feet (9 meters) long and 4 feet 6 inches (1.3 meters) wide.

Inside, a large elm brake wheel, about 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide, helped control the speed. This wheel had 80 cogs, or teeth. It turned another wheel called an elm wallower, which was about 4 feet 8 inches (1.4 meters) wide and had 46 cogs. These wheels were connected to a tall, upright oak shaft. This shaft was about 21 feet 6 inches (6.5 meters) long.

A big elm gear, called the great spur wheel, was about 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide and had 105 cogs. It turned two smaller elm stone nuts. Each of these was about 28 inches (711 mm) wide and had 28 cogs. These stone nuts then turned the millstones.

Millers of Church End Mill

Here are some of the people who worked as millers at Church End Mill:

• Richard Hitching (1834–1840)
• Harvey (1874 - unknown end date)
• William Henry Harvey (1882 - 1894)