DVA member

OLDLAND WINDMILL

The oldest working windmill in Sussex has been beautifully restored by local volunteers and is normally open on the first Sunday of every month between April and October. Volunteers work on Thursdays throughout the year performing maintenance activities or producing stone-ground flour. The team are always looking for new volunteers to help with publicity and stewarding on open days as well as training to become millers. 

The Story of the Mill   (Roger Broadbent - Trustee) 

All but forgotten now, the Great Storm of November 1703 was the worst storm experienced in recorded history of the British Isles. Over 8000 people lost their lives. The damage inflicted on Southern Britain was so serious that many of the region’s windmills were demolished. 

'Above four hundred windmills were overset and broken into pieces, or the sails so blown round that the timbers and wheels have heated and set the rest on fire, and so burnt them down'

Daniel Defoe   -   The Storm

Today we take the availability of bread for granted, but for thousands of years it was the staple food for much of the world's population and remained so in England until well into the 19th century. With bread being so essential to survival, it is not hard to imagine that the sudden loss of flour production forced the urgent building of a replacement windmill on Lodge Hill. 

The date of the earliest windmill on Lodge Hill is not known. However, the construction of Oldland Windmill was probably the direct result of the great storm in November 1703. 

Built 120 years earlier than ‘Jill’ windmill was established atop the downs, Oldland Mill must have been an important supplier of flour to Ditchling. There cannot have been many alternative sources. 

From 1703 until the early years of the 20th century Oldland Mill continued to grind flour. When the mill eventually stopped producing flour in 1912 it was left to decay. It is something of a miracle that the timbers were not stripped away and the main cast iron wind shaft sold for scrap. 

A truly remarkable team of volunteers has spent 40 years recovering and restoring the mill. In October 2008, for the first time in nearly a hundred years, flour was produced once again. The amount of flour now being ground equates to more than a tonne each year. 

A few photos illustrating the remarkable transformation of the mill are included in the downloadable document - see link below. 

The continuous restoration and maintenance costs, together with the major cost of insurance, means we continue to have to raise funds. I appeal to anyone, who is willing and able, to make a donation to our costs. Please send a cheque, payable to ‘Oldland Mill Trust’ To :-  

THE TREASURER
Mr Geoffrey Miller
4, Charlton Gardens,
Ditchling
Sussex 
BN6 8WA

geoffreymiller@gmail.com

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http://www.oldlandwindmill.co.uk