West Blatchington Windmill
Reg. Charity No. 283815
~ 1820 ~ 2024 ~
Videos
BBC SOUTH EAST TODAY 26 JUNE 2022
On the Map's Sara Thornton visited our Mill.
1820 -2020
A trip through time
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2020
....from the air!
Spout Floor
A short peek inside the Windmill showing the unique and ancient timbers.
Looking up you can see the Great Spur Wheel and upright shaft assembly, which are supported by the "A" Frame. This was constructed re-using timbers from an old sailing sheep beached on the coast in the 18th Century. The curved sides being the ribs and the longitudinal beam across the top was the keelson.
Stone Floor
Another little peek inside the Windmill, viewing the millstones.
This is the first floor of the actual mill tower and it was here that the grinding process with the two pairs of stones. They were on average 4ft (1.5m) in diameter and weighed on average approx. 15cwt (760k). In a fair wind the sweeps would cause the stones to revolve at 125-150 revs per minute, and produce 5 bushels (182 litres) of flour per hour.
Bin & Dust Floor
Getting higher up the mill now as we climb towards the mechanisms at the top.
These mechanisms though accessible from the Dust Floor are actually housed in the Cap. From here you can see the cast iron curb on which the cap rotates to move the sweeps into the wind. Also the Windshaft, Brake Wheel, Wallower, and Sack Hoist mechanism.
The Bin Floor contained the Grain Bins that fed the stones below via the Sack Chutes and Hopper.
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Exhibition Room
Accessed from the Loading Floor through a low doorway. This is housed in the upper storey of the original barn. It is from here carts would have been loaded and unloaded via what is now a window.
The exhibition contains scale models of other Mills, a manual sack hoist, a Wire Dressing Machine, a Thresher, and a large display covering the history of milling and photographic record.
