Introduction to windmills

A brief history of windmills in Kent

Windmills have, for a long time, been a visually significant feature of the Kent countryside.

In their 1840s heyday, there were several thousand mills operating in Britain, mostly concentrated in the drier, eastern counties such as Kent, Suffolk and Norfolk.

The historian, William Coles-Finch, writing in the 1930s, found evidence of over 400 windmills in Kent alone.

In spite of the inevitable losses and demolition over the last 50 years, there are still about 15 windmills in Kent which are either complete or substantially solid.

Other windmills, scattered throughout the county, have been converted for other uses, primarily residential.

Types of windmill

There are 3 main types of windmill; the post-mill, the smock-mill and the tower-mill. In this county, it is smock and post-mills that have survived in their most original form.

The post-mill is the earliest type, where the entire body of the mill turned on a central post to face the wind. The 2 examples owned by Kent County Council are at Chillenden and Wittersham.

The later, more sophisticated, smock-mill (so called because it looks like a farm worker's smock) enabled just the cap with the sails to turn automatically to face the wind, while the 'smock' with its machinery inside remained static.

The Kent County Council own 6 smock-mills, at Margate, Stelling Minnis, Meopham, Herne, Cranbrook and Kingsdown.

Why does the council own these windmills?

The council has accepted responsibility for care of the windmills because of their historic importance, their significance in the landscape (most mills had to be positioned on high ground to catch the wind) and their fragility.

All mills are listed - the majority being Grade I or Grade II. This places them within a group of the top 4% of listed buildings in the country.

Kent County Council was given its first windmill at Chillenden in 1958. In the following year, 2 more were handed over - at Meopham and West Kingsdown. Others followed, and now we look after 8 windmills.

Our cultural heritage

Each mill reflects the living history of the village, and the area in which it is situated.

Their preservation is the best way of maintaining a record of their construction and physical history, as well as illustrating the social history of the firms and families who built and ran the windmills.

The miller was, at one time, a key member of the local community, since the windmill was an essential part of the agricultural industry on which prosperity depended.

Kent County Council decided that, in order to make full use of the windmills as an important part of the county's heritage, works of care and repair were needed, and using them for tourist and educational purposes was an essential part of this.

Preserving our heritage

Windmills must be treated more as machinery, rather than buildings. They were designed for a relatively short life. They were also designed to earn a living and for easy maintenance and repair.

To some extent, this conflicts with the overall approach to conservation of our heritage.

Windmills wear out, and the preservation of them as 'buildings of architectural or historic merit' can conflict with their character as a windmill, particularly if they need to stay in working order.

In the 1950s, windmills were considered wholly as attractive man-made features within the landscape. Indeed, when we acquired Chillenden windmill, all the machinery and the adjoining barn were removed, as it was thought that its presence as a landscape feature was its only value.

Now the historical importance of the internal machinery, and the fixtures and fittings within each mill, are recognised as having archaeological and historic importance in their own right.

Today, windmills containing their own machinery are far less likely to be converted for alternative uses. Unfortunately, caring for them in their original state is more complex and can be expensive.

Kent County Council works with local groups to actively preserve the future of the windmills and to support their repair and, where records exist, restoration. We also encourage improvements to the buildings and sites, to encourage greater public access and greater use of the windmills as an educational resource.