Haxted Watermill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Haxted Watermill |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Watermill |
| Location | Haxted Road, Lingfield |
| OS grid reference | TQ 41859 45507 |
| Area | Surrey |
| Built | ca 1680 |
|
Listed Building – Grade II
|
|
| Official name: Haxted Mill | |
| Designated | 11 Jun 1958 |
| Reference no. | 1029920 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Haxted Watermill is a very old building in Surrey, England. It's a special kind of mill called a watermill. This mill is located near the border with Kent. It gets its power from the River Eden. The mill is a Grade II listed building, which means it's an important historic place.
History of Haxted Mill
The Haxted Watermill was first written about in 1361. This was in the will of a person named Sir Reginald de Cobham. The mill you see today has parts from different times. The western side of the building was built around 1680. It stands on the foundations of the much older 14th-century mill. The eastern side was added later, in 1797.
The mill stopped grinding flour in 1919. However, it continued to work until 1945. During that time, it ground animal feed for local farmers. The last miller was Thomas Stanford. His family had been running the mill for about 200 years.
In 1949, a man named Mr. Woodrow bought the mill. He spent the next 20 years carefully fixing its old machines. In 1966, the mill opened as a museum. It taught people about water milling and water pumping. Recently, it was a restaurant, but it is now closed.
How the Mill Works: Machinery
The Haxted Watermill uses a large overshot waterwheel. This means water flows over the top of the wheel to make it spin. The wheel is about 10 feet (3 meters) across. It is also 9 feet (2.7 meters) wide. This wheel was put in around 1830.
By 1972, the 72 iron buckets on the wheel were broken. They were replaced with new ones made of fibreglass. During renovations, workers found a stone from an even older waterwheel. This older wheel was an undershot type. It dates all the way back to the 14th century.
When the current wheel worked fully, it made about 11 horsepower (8.2 kilowatts) of power. It spun at 8 r.p.m.. This power turned three pairs of millstones. The millstones spun much faster, at 120 r.p.m., thanks to special gears.
The main gears, called the pit wheel and wallower, are from the same time as the waterwheel. But a very large gear, called the great spur wheel, is even older. It is made of oak wood with applewood teeth. Experts believe it dates back to 1680. The mill originally had three pairs of French burr millstones. A fourth pair was added later, but it was too much for the machinery. So, it was disconnected.
