Windmills in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight —A Revised List of Sites

Proc. Hants Field dub Archaeol. Soc. 34, 1978, 53-57. WINDMILLS IN HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT —A REVISED LIST OF SITES By J. R. KEN YON INTRODUCTION Europe at the beginning of the fifteenth cen WINDMILLS were to be found in Hampshire tury, and the earliest extant example in this from the middle ages onwards, their number country is at Burton Dassett, Warwickshire, being greater than there is visual evidence for which was built towards the end of the today. The first article on Hampshire's mills fifteenth century. The post mill survived at was by A. Keeble Shaw (1960). The gazetteer least until the late eighteenth century in of mills published by Ellis (1968) listed a total Hampshire, and the only tower mills that are of 170 mills still in existence, of which only still standing are all nineteenth century. five were windmills. The three inland sites There are two sites in Hampshire which of Chalton, Grateley and Bursledon are brick had windmills from the middle ages through built, whilst stone was used for those at to the nineteenth century, although no doubt Portchester and Langstone. A brick and flint many times rebuilt. These sites are Windmill tower mill at West Meon, later converted Hill, Chalton, and the Lumps Fort area, east into a dovecote, was omitted from the gazet of Southsea Castle. The Chalton mill, the teer although it is marked on an Ordnance only one to be depicted on Speed's map of Survey 6 in. map. The Isle of Wight was 1611, is first mentioned in 1289 (Page 1908, excluded from the survey. The most recent 104, fn. 40), when it was valued at 40s. work on Hampshire windmills is that by Perhaps because of its fine position it is the Triggs (1969). Triggs examined the county one windmill marked on all seventeenth in general, and then the mills of Portsmouth, century and later maps of Hampshire that the Isle of Wight, and Hayling Island, the writer has seen. It probably remained as and produced evidence for Hampshire's a post mill until the early nineteenth century, windmills past and present, using place- and certainly it is marked as a post mill on name evidence, written sources and maps. Taylor's map. Taylor was unique in using Some of the sources used were not exploited both the post and tower mill symbols for his to the full, especially Isaac Taylor's map, and it is unfortunate that other map map of the county published in 1759. This makers did not follow his lead. present note, which is based on a review of Trigg's paper which formed part of an under Both Triggs and Shaw state that there was graduate course at the University of a windmill by the thirteenth century in the Southampton, produces further evidence for Lumps area by Southsea, though in fact there windmills in the county, and discusses the role is no evidence for a windmill, only a water of this type of mill in a part of England mill. Nevertheless, there was a windmill in which has always been dominated by the existence by 1538. In a letter of that date watermill. sent to the Earl of Southampton, John Chaderton mentioned that a Southampton The earliest windmills known in Hamp vessel was pursued by four French ships and shire and the Isle of Wight were post mills, that the former ran aground 'besides the documented in the thirteenth century. The Windmill hill at this town called Palshyds tower mill made its first appearance in Bulwerk' (L. if P. Hen VIII 13 (1), 176. No. 53 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 485). This bulwark was a small earthen Down, Chillerton Down, Shanklin Down and battery for guns in the area later occupied Ashey Down are not included on Taylor's by Lumps Fort, and the position of the map. bulwark may be seen in the engraving, made in the eighteenth century and published by Isaac Taylor depicted a tower mill at the Society of Antiquaries, of the Cowdray Weston near Freshwater, and the Victoria drawing depicting the French fleet off Ports County History (Page 1912, 241) mentions mouth and the sinking of the Mary Rose in that a windmill existed here in 1262 (quoted 1545. W. G. Gates includes an illustration of as 1292 by Major), and that it was rebuilt in the nineteenth century disused Lumps tower 1300. As the mill was worth nothing in 1262, mill in his Portsmouth in the Past (1972, 62). it seems likely that it was by then in a Another early mill, besides those at South ruinous state. Another tower mill is located ampton, was one at Chark, west of Gosport, just to the east of Yarmouth. The East Cowes owned by Quarr Abbey, on the Isle of Wight, tower mill is shown without any sails, but an in the thirteenth century. engraving of 1812 has the mill in working order. The Yarmouth mill and a post mill at Weyhill in north-west Hampshire were missed In spite of the work done by R. A. Pelham by Triggs, and the mill at Stoke Charity was (1963) on the Southampton mills, Triggs does a tower mill in 1759, not, as Triggs records, not mention the early windmills. Most of a post windmill. Pelham's monograph is concerned with the more important tidal water mills, but the Milne's map of 1791 also provides further town did possess a few windmills through the evidence of windmills, but it is difficult to ages, the last one standing on the castle motte say whether the absence of mills on this map in the eighteenth century. In the suburb of which had been included by Taylor, was due Fulflood, north of Bargate, two windmills are to destruction or whether they were simply recorded in the middle ages, both mentioned omitted. The Weyhill mill is not shown, but in connection with the Horder family. A Milne did depict the one at Kimpton, two rental of 1278 stated that William le Horder miles from Weyhill. The Stoke Charity wind owed 6d. for the place 'where the windmill mill is also omitted, but two other mills that is built, in Fulflood'. In 1305 Adam le Horder are on the map are south of Widley on Ports- built a windmill in the same suburb. down, and on Galley Down, north-west of Bishop's Waltham. Wyld's map of c.1820 of It has already been seen how valuable Isaac the Winchester district plots the Froxall mill Taylor's map is for depicting post and tower accurately enough to give the modern grid windmills. Triggs naturally made use of it, reference, SU 723281. It lay south-west of although he makes one wrong identification in Priors Dean, and today there is a house called regard to mill type. It is interesting to note Windmill Cottage at this point. that the Bembridge windmill in the south east area of the Isle of Wight is shown as a The abundance of water running down post mill on this map of 1759. J. K. Major from the chalk makes Hampshire an ideal in his book (Major 1970) on Isle of Wight county for watermills, and it is for this reason mills assumed that the present tower mill that so many exist to this day. One is left was built in 1746, the date carved on the therefore to try and explain why there were ladder. Either Taylor has used the wrong many windmills in Hampshire and the Isle symbol or the 1746 ladder is all that remains of Wight over the past seven hundred years. of the post mill. It is worth noting that the There are obviously several fine sites for four windmills shown on Willdey's map of windmills, as witness Windmill Hill, Chalton, the Isle of Wight dated c.1720, on Compton and the absence of a suitable water supply 54 J. R. KENYON: WINDMILLS IN HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT may account for the occurrence of the wind however, and also that Bucklers Hard had a mills. However, a large percentage of the mills mill for sawing timber for ship-building, through the ages have been close to the shore dating to the eighteenth century. The of the sea and estuaries, especially in the Lymington mills may in fact have been Portsmouth area. The majority seem to have windpumps for salterns. milled grain; the Shipwright's and Dockyard- men's mills were built by co-operatives to From the various sources cited in the provide cheaper bread for the poor, and the bibliography and the evidence of further sites latter actually had its own bakery. Windmills which have been located, it seems that over on the coast would be just as effective as fifty different windmill sites existed at one those on high ground because of strong winds time or other in Hampshire and the Isle of coming across the channel. The importance Wight. The value of windmills was realised of Portsmouth as a military centre may also at an early date as not everywhere was served have had some effect on the building and by suitable rivers for watermills. life span of the windmills. Shaw (1958, 1960) mentions that in 1714 the government bought a mill to provide flour for the armed forces, LIST OF WINDMILL SITES IN and in the previous century the Isle of Wight HAMPSHIRE AND THE ISLE OF WIGHT was the major grain source for Portsmouth. After the name of each site there follows In the nineteenth century, especially from the type of mill if it is known for certain the 1850's-60's with the construction of the (PM = post mill; TM = tower mill; SM = forts west of Gosport and on Portsdown, the smock mill).

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