Drawing from the late 1800's
|
Photo from around 1900
|
Tower Mill ablaze in summer of 1911
|
After the fire
|
History
The Tower Mill at Mark Cross, East Sussex was built in 1845 by the Arnold Brothers of Paddock Wood. She comprised of a five storey, two foot thick, brick tower half tiled with Kentish peg. She was capped unsually with a wooden Kentish smock hood painted white. This housed a patented four sweep sail and a large fan-tail.
Inisde the floors consisted from top to bottom of :-
Top gears housed in the hood
Bin floor
Stone floor
Spout Floor
Roundel
There were three pairs of stones driven by the mill, an oats crusher and a sifter.
The first owner was farmer Catherine Ashby then the Walter family took ownership, living in Mill House until after the Second World War.
|
Rebuilt with a castelled Top
|
On 26th July 1911 the mill caught fire, the blaze could be seen as far as Argos Hill and Cross in Hand Mills. The fire destroyed the Smock top and Sail assembly which was afterwards replaced with an ungainly castelled top. The mill continued to operate being powered by a gas engine.
In 1962 the tower was converted into a private house with large windows and cedar weather boarding covering the cement facing on the top two floors.
|
Tower Mill before conversion
|
References
The Windmills of Sussex - Martin Brunnarius
Windmills at Work in East Sussex - Maurice Lawson Finch
Windmills in Sussex - Peter Hemming
|
After Conversion in 1962
|
