High Salvington Windmill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids High Salvington Mill
The restored mill
Origin
Mill name	Durrington Mill High Salvington Mill
Grid reference	TQ 123 067
Coordinates	50°50′55″N 0°24′24″W / 50.84864°N 0.40667°W / 50.84864; -0.40667
Year built	1750
Information
Purpose	Corn mill
Type	Post mill
Roundhouse storeys	Single storey roundhouse
No. of sails	Four
Type of sails	Two Common sails, two Spring sails
Windshaft	Wood, with cast iron poll end.
Winding	Tailpole
No. of pairs of millstones	Two pairs, arranged Head and Tail

The Durrington or High Salvington Windmill is a special old building in High Salvington, Sussex. It is a post mill, which means its whole top part can turn to face the wind. The mill has been fixed up and can grind grain again. It stands high up, about 320 feet (98 meters) above the sea, which helps it catch the strong sea winds.

History of the Windmill

The first time a mill was mentioned here was in church records from 1615. A map from 1724 also showed a mill on this spot. The windmill you see today was built around 1750. It was used to grind flour for the nearby town of Worthing until 1897.

Later, a man named Colonel T F Wisden bought the mill. He promised to keep it working. It was then used to grind food for animals until 1905. For much of the 1900s, the mill was not well cared for. In 1907, the wooden base (called a roundhouse) was replaced with a concrete one. This new part was used as a tea-room.

In 1959, the Worthing Borough Council took over the mill. Experts fixed it up in 1961, adding new parts like sails. But in 1976, a strong storm broke one of the sails. The other three had to be taken off. The mill needed a lot of repair.

The Worthing Town Council started a project to restore it. The concrete roundhouse was replaced with a new wooden one in 1990. This new one looked more like the original. The mill started grinding grain again in 1991. A granary (a building to store grain) was moved from East Grinstead and rebuilt at the mill in 1994. More repairs were done in 1998 when a main part of the mill (a stock) split.

In 2008, local councillors gave money to help fix up the gatehouse. They hoped it would become a visitor information center.

Stories About the Mill

Many stories have been told about Durrington Mill, now called High Salvington Mill. Some of these stories have even ended up in official books. This section helps to clear up some of these tales.

Long ago, when new steam-powered mills became popular, old windmills struggled. The miller's wife at High Salvington started selling tea to tourists. This is how the mill's tea-room began. Later "millers" focused on making the mill a tourist spot. They charged people to see the mill and its machinery. This helped keep the mill in good shape. However, some of these "millers" also added to the mill's history to make it more exciting for visitors. These stories were often printed in leaflets.

For example, a popular story was that the mill's main post was part of a tree that grew on the site. It was said that its roots went deep into the ground. But mills were not built this way in the 1740s. When the tea-room floor was removed, it became clear the post was held up above the ground, as expected.

Another story claimed the mill worked again in 1914. But at that time, the mill could not turn all the way around. It was fixed in one spot. It could not fully turn until the 1970s, after parts of the concrete roundhouse were removed.

There was also a story that the mill had a "fantail," which is a small windmill at the back that helps the main mill turn to face the wind. But no proof of this has ever been found. The mill was always turned by pushing a long pole.

Finally, some records from 1970 said the mill was a private house. But the mill's concrete roundhouse was still serving teas then. There was no living space in the mill at any time.

Restoration Work

After a sail broke in 1976, people found that the mill's main support structure (the trestle) was damaged by Death Watch Beetles. The mill's machinery and grinding stones were taken out and stored safely. A strong steel frame was built to hold the mill up. This allowed workers to replace the damaged trestle and other parts.

In 1985, a new brake wheel was built and put in place. This wheel helps stop the sails. One pair of sails was put on in 1987. The sails even turned during the Great Storm of 1987, even though the brake was on! The second pair of sails was added in 1988. The roundhouse was rebuilt in 1990. The mill ground grain again for the first time on April 4, 1991.

In 2008, workers found old rope marks near a window. This showed that the window was likely a "pop-hole" where the brake rope used to hang. This allowed the miller to stop the mill from outside. Volunteers decided to make the mill more like it was originally. They replaced the window with a pop-hole and a removable cover. In July 2009, the outside of the mill was repainted. The window frames were also fixed and painted.

What the Windmill Looks Like

The High Salvington Windmill is a post mill with a single-story roundhouse. The whole top part of the mill spins on a strong oak post. This post is held up by a trestle made of heavy pine beams. These beams rest on four brick supports. A wooden roundhouse, built like the original one from before 1907, protects the trestle.

At the top of the main post is a part called a Samson head. This holds up the crown tree, which is a large, heavy oak beam. The main body of the mill is attached to this crown tree.

The windmill has two types of sails: a pair of common sails and a pair of spring sails. These are attached to a wooden shaft with a cast iron end. The mill has two pairs of millstones. One pair, called the head stones, are from Derbyshire and are used for rough grinding. The other pair, called the tail stones, are made from French Burrstone pieces set in plaster. These are used for fine grinding. Each pair of stones has its own wheel to make it turn. The Friends of High Salvington Mill had to rebuild the head wheel. The tail wheel is very old and fragile, so it is not used for grinding anymore.

The mill also has Tenter gear. This system helps adjust the gap between the millstones. It uses levers and a screw. There is also a rope that lets the miller lift the heavy top stone (which weighs about 500 kg or half a ton). Governors also help by adjusting the gap based on how fast the wind is blowing.

Millers of High Salvington Windmill

• Daniel Redman (1824–1847)
• William Beard (1847–1871)
• Walter Brown (1871–1897)
• Alfred Samuel Coote (–1898)
• Stephen Scutt (–1906)
• Coote (1914)

Glynde Windpump

The High Salvington Windmill Trust also got a much smaller windmill called the Glynde Windpump. This is a hollow post mill. It was originally located somewhere else and was built in the mid-1800s. It might have been used to pump water for steam engines or to raise water for making lime.

The old, rotting parts of the pump were saved by Andrew Norman. The High Salvington Mill Trust then finished fixing it up. They installed it next to the main windmill. The main supports were set in strong foundations. The body of the mill was fixed and made the right size using old photos. New sails were designed and built. The restored windpump was shown to the public on May 11, 2008.

At first, the rebuilt sails turned the wrong way (clockwise). In 2009, the sails were rebuilt to turn correctly (anti-clockwise). A pump was found and put back in place in July 2009. The pump was connected in August and September 2009. This means the Glynde Windpump can now pump water again for the first time in over 50 years!

Nutley Wind Engine

In 2013, the High Salvington Mill Trust got a 44-foot (13-meter) steel mast from a farm in Nutley. This mast had both a wind engine and a wind generator on it. The wind generator was added later and would have stopped the wind engine from working properly.

The original mast was split into two parts. One part was used for the wind engine, and the other for the generator. The wind engine is a Hercules oil-bath type with an 8-foot (2.4-meter) fan. Many parts were missing, so volunteers had to research and make new ones. In 2020, a well pump was found and attached to the wind engine.

The wind generator has a 6-foot (1.8-meter) two-bladed wooden fan. This fan powers a Lucas 24V DC lorry generator, which can spin very fast. The volunteers built a control box with light bulbs. The faster the fan turns, the more lights glow. When it's at full power, all the bulbs light up!

Visiting the Windmill

High Salvington Windmill is open to visitors. You can visit from 2:30 pm to 5 pm on the first and third Sunday of each month, from April to September.

Volunteers who help fix and maintain the mill meet every Thursday evening from 7 pm to 9 pm. They also meet on the first and third Sunday morning of every month, all year round. All the work to keep the mill in good shape is done by these volunteers.

If you have a group, you can also arrange special guided tours at other times. You can contact the Visit organiser to set this up.

Images for kids

• 

  The mill under restoration

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  Glynde Windpump (left), Nutley Wind Engine (center), and Nutley Wind Generator (right) restored and operating on June 28, 2020.