Windmills

Most weeks when looking at the history of the area we look at buildings, constructions etc., that are still with us today. This week we are going to look more at bygone history, buildings which, on the whole are no longer with us. Windmills were introduced into England in the 1150's and in Sussex the earliest mention is in 1155. At one time within the County there were approximately 200 windmills but by the 1980s this number had dwindled to less than 30 remaining and most of these were in ruins. However today, several remain in a reasonable state of repair within the county.

The golden age of windmills was definitely in the 18th and early 19th century, when bread formed a large part of most people's diet, however with the arrival of steam in the mid 1800's their demise began.

We will first move to Felpham an area, which today is occupied by Admiralty Gardens where it meets the sea.

Here was the White Mill.This was a seven-storey white stone smock mill, where the sweeps (sails) could make the 27 h.p. which was needed to drive the four pairs of stones.

This mill stood for approx. 80 years until the 1880's and the name of the first miller was Mr. Haynes. The last miller was Henry Hobbs who occupied the position for approximately 30 years.

A sketch of 1879 shows the White Mill with the coastguard's flagstaff in the background. It shows the mill as derelict and it was eventually claimed by the sea and demolished in 1879. The brick and stone from the base of the White Mill were re-used in the building of the stables and garden walls of Turret House.

Another mill in Felpham was the Black Mill. One of the earliest records is of William Cosens in 1801 purchasing an area named Mill Field for the sum of £555. This covered an area of land from Admiralty Road to the sea. By 1806 William had built a wooden post mill, which stood on a brick base and could be rotated, so that the complete construction revolved and the sails, or sweeps as they were known, faced any available wind.

This mill was used for the grinding of corn to make the very necessary flour.

This mill remained in the Cosens family as it was passed from William to his wife Elizabeth and then onto their niece, Louisa Gray, in 1856.

However Louisa sold the mill in 1862 to Edward Stubbington, whose address was 7 Spencer Terrace, Bognor for a sum of £1,050. In fact Edward had been leasing and running the mill since 1856 as a tenant, repaying the loan in instalments.

When Louisa died in 1863 her executors continued the arrangements with Edward, although he now became the owner of the mill.

By 1866 Edward Stubbington had become a developer selling plots of Mill Field. The first five houses were built facing Felpham Road and he made a right of way to the rear of the houses, which today is Havelock Road. Records show that the new owner of the mill in the 1870's was Charles Digwell and the last known owner in 1884 was Henry Reynolds, until it apparently failed c 1887, when he started a grocery store in one of the buildings.

Sadly, in the late 1880's the mill had ceased to be active and by the 1890s had lost its sails, nevertheless it remained on the skyline until it was finally demolished in 1907.

The area in this vicinity, which ran down to the sea, had become known as the Felpham Mill Building Estate. Around 1884 Henry Reynolds was offering plots within the estate by auction and these were described as, "most of the plots have a depth of 85ft. and offer the most charming sites for small villas which are now in great demand, those now in the course of completion being already let. Small houses at rentals varying from £15 to £20 per annum will readily sell for occupation." Mill Field was subsequently marked out into five roads, namely, Havelock, Canning, Clyde, Outram and Sea View.
One name that has become associated with this area is that of 'Snook.' Elizabeth Cosens, in 1830, made the mill over to a Matthew Snook as security for the sum of £500. However by 1857 Matthew Snook needed the sum of £500 so sold the security.

However it is, we presume a relative of his Henry Snook who is best remembered.
He was running a greengrocery business with his wife from Victoria Cottage, which was next to the grocery store.

The shop owner, Henry Reynolds sold the property to Amey's the Petersfield Brewer. In 1907 Ameys then built a new general store and off licence, using the bricks, as foundation material, from the demolished mill. Henry Snook eventually took over this over in 1916.

As late as 1966 the buildings were still called "The Old Mill Off-licence" and the advertising board outside showed a windmill. Today of course this corner of the village is always referred to as 'Snooks corner.'

There were other mills in the locality including one at the seaward end of Nyewood Lane, on the shoreline between Park Road. This can be seen on many early pictures of the area. The tower mill had a revolving cap that turned canvas covered sails into the wind. It was built in the 1920's and was owned by Henry Martin. This windmill was built to crush clay-iron stone from the beach, which was used in the manufacture of roman cement, a much needed commodity for the expansion of Bognor.

The clay ironstone was called septaria or kidney-rack, because it was veined with semi-transparent calcite. The poor of the parish and fishermen dug this raw material from beneath the sands. By the 1880's the mill was taken over by Thomas Norris and his son, and they converted it into a flourmill. The mill was eventually closed at the end of the 1880's and by the turn of the century had been demolished. When the mill was pulled down a curious metal sign in the shape of a fox was discovered. It was thought at the time that it might have come from Bognor's ancient smuggler tavern, The Fox.

Another mill was that of the Black Tower Mill in Nyetimber. It was built in the early 1840's with one of the earliest millers being William Adams for quite a number of years. There were a succession of millers, but with the advent of the 1st World War and damaged machinery the life of the mill came to an end. The base continued to be used as a carpenters shop, but in 1927 the sweeps were damaged when they were struck by lightening. The mill remained neglected for many years and on 14th June 1962 there was a fire, which nearly destroyed the mill.

On the site of the Black Tower Mill in 1981 the Rev. John Maynard dug the 'first spit for the foundation' of a newly created construction of retirement homes and a 1982 artist impression and progress reports were being included in the local press on a regular basis. 52 retirement flats now surround the four-storey mill tower.

In December 2002 there was an announcement that the Nyetimber Mill is now involved in it's biggest overhaul for two decades. The windmill is a Grade Two listed building.

There are a number of mills still in existence in Sussex and whilst the mill at Nyetimber is not being used for its original purpose, it is maintained and will be a permanent reminder of the existence of windmills for future generations.

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