|
Kent's windmills are not only a striking visual feature of
the landscape but also provide an insight into the agricultural
history of the area.
A brief history of windmills in Kent
Windmills have, for a long time, been a visually significant
feature of the Kent countryside and they developed to a high state
of efficiency in the 19th century.
At their heyday, in the 1840s, there were several thousand mills
operating in Britain, predominantly concentrated in the dryer,
eastern counties such as Kent, Suffolk and Norfolk.
The historian William Coles-Finch, writing in the 1930's, 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 three main types of windmill, the post-mill, the
smock-mill and the tower-mill. In this County, it is examples of
the smock and post-mill that survive in their most original
form.
The earliest type is the post-mill, whereby the entire body of the
mill turned on a central post to face the wind. The two examples
owned by the Kent County Council are at Chillenden and
Wittersham.
The later, more sophisticated, smock-mill (so-called because of
its similarity in shape to 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 mills at Margate, Stelling Minnis,
Meopham, Herne, Cranbrook and Kingsdown, are smock-mills.
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 two more were handed over - at Meopham
and West Kingsdown. Others followed, until now eight are looked
after by the County Council.
Our cultural heritage
Each mill has a heritage value, reflecting not only the
evolution of agriculture in the south-east, but as part of the
living history of the village and 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 related to 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 required 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 are to maintain a
capability for use.
In the 1950's, windmills were considered wholly as attractive
man-made features within the landscape. Indeed, when Chillenden
windmill was acquired, all the machinery and the adjoining barn,
were removed as it was considered that it's 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. |