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

High Salvington Windmill, also known as Durrington Windmill, is a historic windmill located in High Salvington, Sussex. It is a special type of windmill called a post mill. This mill has been carefully fixed up and can grind grain again. It stands about 97 meters (320 feet) above sea level. This high spot helps it catch the strong winds coming from the sea.

History of High Salvington Mill

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

After that, it was used to grind food for animals until 1905. For many years in the 1900s, the mill was not well cared for. In 1907, the old wooden base was replaced with a concrete one. This new base was used as a tea-room.

In 1959, the local council, Worthing Borough Council, took over the mill. Experts repaired it in 1961, adding new parts like sails. In 1976, a strong storm broke one of the sails. The other three sails were then removed for safety.

The mill needed a lot of work. The council started a big project to restore it. The concrete tea-room was replaced with a new wooden base in 1990. This new base looked more like the original one. The mill started grinding grain again in 1991. A granary (a building for storing grain) was moved to the mill site in 1994. More repairs were done in 1998 when a main wooden part, called a stock, split. A new one was made, and the sails were put back on.

In 2008, local leaders gave money to help fix up the mill's gatehouse. This building was planned to become a visitor information center.

Myths 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. However, some of them are not true. This section will help clear up some of these myths.

When new steam-powered mills became popular, old windmills like this one struggled. The miller's wife at High Salvington started selling tea to visitors. This is how the mill's tea-room began. Later, people who ran the mill focused on it as a tourist spot. They charged money for drinks and to see the mill's inside. This helped keep the mill in good shape. However, some "millers" made up or added to the mill's history to make it more exciting for visitors. These made-up stories were even printed in leaflets.

The Post Tree Story

A popular myth was that the mill's main post came from a tree that grew right on the spot. The story said the tree's roots went deep into the ground. But this is not how windmills were built in the 1700s. When the tea-room floor was removed, it was clear the post was held up by wooden supports, not roots. The post is actually held above the ground by strong wooden beams. These beams rest on brick supports.

This story appeared in old leaflets. One leaflet from the 1950s said that people dug down 12 feet. They supposedly found "great roots" instead of the end of the post. This suggested a living oak tree was used. However, an expert named Rex Wailes explained in 1961 that this story was not true.

The "Worked in 1914" Story

Some people claimed the mill worked again in 1914. But at that time, the mill was stuck in one position. The concrete base built in 1907 stopped it from turning all the way around. The mill could not turn fully until the 1970s, when parts of the concrete base were removed. The new wooden base, built in 1990, allows the mill to turn a full 360 degrees. There is no proof that the mill worked in 1914.

The "Fantail" Story

Official records once said that High Salvington Windmill had a "fantail." A fantail is a small windmill at the back of a larger windmill. It automatically turns the main sails into the wind. However, there is no proof that this mill ever had one. When the council bought the mill in 1959, it was turned into the wind by pushing a long pole called a tail-pole. It seems this information in the records was a mistake.

The Private House Story

Another record from 1970 said the mill was "now a private house." This is also not true. While there was a miller's cottage nearby, it was torn down years ago. The concrete base of the mill was still being used as a tea-room in 1970. There has never been a home inside the mill itself.

Restoration Work

After a sail broke in 1976, inspectors found that the mill's main support structure, called the trestle, was damaged by beetles. The grinding machinery and millstones were taken out and stored. A steel frame was put in place to hold the mill up. This allowed the old trestle and a main beam, called the crown tree, to be replaced.

A new brake wheel, about 3 meters (10 feet) across, was built and installed in 1985. One pair of sails was put on in 1987. These 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 (the base of the mill) was rebuilt in 1990. The restored mill ground grain for the first time on April 4, 1991.

In 2008, volunteers found old rope marks near a window. This showed that the window was likely once a "pop-hole." This was a small opening where the miller could drop the brake rope. This allowed them to stop the mill from outside. Volunteers replaced the window with a pop-hole to make the mill more like its original design. In July 2009, the outside of the mill was repainted.

How High Salvington Windmill Works

High Salvington Windmill is a post mill with a single-story roundhouse. The entire top part of the mill can turn on a strong oak post. This post is supported by a wooden frame called a trestle. The trestle has heavy pine beams that rest on four brick pillars. The wooden roundhouse protects this trestle.

On top of the main post is a special wooden block called a Samson head. This supports a very large, heavy oak beam called the crown tree. The main body of the mill is attached to this crown tree.

The windmill has four sails. Two are "common sails" and two are "spring sails." They are attached to a wooden shaft called a windshaft. The mill has two pairs of millstones. One pair, called the head stones, are rough stones used for the first grind. The other pair, called the tail stones, are made from special French stone. These were used for fine grinding. Each pair of stones has its own large wooden wheel to make it turn.

The mill also has a system called Tenter gear. This allows the miller to change the small gap between the millstones. This helps control how fine the flour is. There are also governors that automatically adjust the gap based on how fast the wind is blowing.

Millers of High Salvington

Here are some of the people who worked as millers at High Salvington Windmill:

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

Glynde Windpump

The High Salvington Windmill Trust also owns and restored the Glynde Windpump. This is a much smaller windmill that was used to pump water. It was built in the mid-1800s. It might have pumped water for steam engines or for making lime.

The old, rotting parts of the pump were saved and restored. The main body of the pump was rebuilt to match old photographs from 1929. New sails were designed and built. The restored windpump was shown to the public on May 11, 2008.

At first, the sails turned the wrong way (clockwise). In 2009, they were rebuilt to turn correctly (anti-clockwise). A pump was added in July 2009. By September 2009, the Glynde Windpump was able to pump water again for the first time in over 50 years!

Nutley Wind Engine

In 2013, the High Salvington Mill Trust got a large steel mast from a farm in Nutley. This mast had both a wind engine and a wind generator on it. A wind engine uses wind to pump water. A wind generator uses wind to make electricity. The wind generator was added later and would have stopped the wind engine from working well.

The original mast was split into two parts. This created separate masts for the wind engine and the generator. The wind engine is a Hercules oil-bath type with a 2.4-meter (8-foot) fan. Many parts were missing, so volunteers had to research and make new ones. In 2020, a well pump was added to the wind engine.

The wind generator has a 1.8-meter (6-foot) wooden fan with two blades. It powers a Lucas 24V DC lorry generator. This generator can spin very fast. Volunteers built a control box with light bulbs. The faster the fan turns, the more lights glow. When all the bulbs are lit, it means the generator is making its full power.

Images for kids

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  The Glynde Windpump, Nutley Wind Engine, and Nutley Wind Generator, restored and working on June 28, 2020, in the High Salvington Windmill field.

Visiting the Mill

High Salvington Windmill is open to the public. 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 maintain and restore the mill meet there every Thursday evening. They also meet on the first and third Sunday mornings of every month, all year round. All the repair work at the mill is done by these dedicated volunteers. Groups can also arrange special guided tours by contacting the Visit organiser.