Horse mill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A horse-mill is a mill that uses a horse as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse-mills was for grinding grain and pumping water. Other animals used for powering mills include dogs, donkeys and oxen. These are all forms of animal engines. Man, can also be considered to be an animal, and engines powered by man include treadwheels.
Sometimes a horse mill was used in conjunction with a watermill or a windmill.
In Antwerp, Belgium, the Brouwers Huis Museum (Brewers House museum) is a good example of horse powered pumping machinery, the building dating from the C16th and the original wooden machinery was replaced in cast iron in the mid C19th, but retaining the original layout.
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[edit] Places where horse-mills are known to have existed, or can be found.
Bedfordshire.
- Eversholt - a horse engine, now preserved at Billing Mill.
- Kensworth - a donkey wheel from Nash Farm is preserved in Luton museum and Art Gallery. There was also another donkey wheel at Chuch End Farm.
- Woburn - a horse driven corn mill.
Berkshire.
- Woolley Park - a horse driven corn mill.
Buckinghamshire.
- Aylesbury - a horse wheel and churn are now preserved in the Science Museum (London)
Cornwall.
- Gwennap - a horse whim for raising ore.
- Newquay - a horse gear for driving a threshing machine is preserved at the Dairyland museum.
Cumberland.
- Cartmel - a horse gear is preserved at the Museum of Lakeland Life, Kendal.
Derbyshire.
- Castleton - a horse powered ore crusher stood at NGR SK 135835.
Devonshire.
- Scorlinch, Clyst St. Lawrence - a horse engine.
- Weyland, Tedburn St. Mary - a horse powered mill, extant in the 1920's.
Durham
- East Herrington - a horse powered mine gin.
Hampshire.
- Southampton - a horse powered pumping engine in the Weevil Brewery. Built by John Smeaton in 1780.
Hertfordshire.
- Ashridge - a donkey wheel.
Isle of Wight.
- Carisbrooke Castle - a donkey wheel, extant.
Kent.
- Chilham Castle - a horse wheel driving pumps.
- West Kingsdown - a horse whim, now preserved at Singleton, Sussex (q.v.).
London.
- A horse powered pumping engine in the Chiswell Street brewery.
Northumberland.
- Berwick Hill. - a horse gin built in 1814. Now preserved at Beamish Museum.
Nottinghamshire.
- Wollaton Hall - a horse gin built at Langton Colliery in 1844 and later used at Pinxton Colliery.
Oxfordshire.
- Great Tew - a horse powered corn mill.
Suffolk.
- Blythburgh - there was a horse wheel at Henham Hall now preserved at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket.
- Drinkstone. - the smock mill formerly had a horse-mill in the base.
Surrey.
- Painshill - a horse-wheel used for raising water. In use from 1770 to the 1830's.
Sussex.
- Patching - a pug-mill, now preserved at Singleton (q.v.).
- Singleton (West Kingsdown)
- Singleton (Patching) - both at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.
Norfolk.
Norwich -
- Catton mill - a horse and wind mill.
- Earlham Hall - a horse mill
- Mill Hill, Heigham - a horse and wind mill.
- Pockthorpe mill - a horse and wind mill.
- Great mill, Attleborough - a horse and wind mill.
- Kettle mills, Kings Lynn - a horse, wind and water mill.
- Oulton, - a horse and wind mill.
Oxfordshire.
- Greys Court, Rotherfield Greys. - a National Trust property, with a donkey wheel.
Wiltshire.
- Broad Hinton - a donkey wheel, demolished in 1908.
- Tidworth - a horse-driven pump, working in the 1930's.
Worcestershire
- Burlingham - a horse powered cider mill is preserved at Hartlebury Castle.
Yorkshire.
- Hutton-le-Hole - a horse mill is preserved at the Ryedale Folk Museum.
- Stillington - a horse wheel now preserved at Shibden Hall.
- Sutton - a gorse crushing mill is preserved on the village green.
Channel Isles.
- Guernsey - a horse powered cider mill is preserved at theFolk museum.
Scotland.
- Gartly, Aberdeenshire - a horse mill for crushing gorse for fodder.
- Titwood Farm, Kilamurs, Ayrshire.
- Wester Kittochside, East Kilbride. This example is at the Museum of Scottish Country Life and was recently dug out (2005) and partially restored to working condition.
Wales.
- Dullog, Rhostryfan, Caernarfon - an oblique dog-wheel. Now preserved at the Welsh Folk Museum, St. Fagans, Cardiff.
- Bersham Colliery Wrexham, Denbighshire - a reconstruction of a horse gin.
- Abergavenny, Monmouthshire - a dog driven spit is preserved in the museum.
- Penysgwarne Farm, Tremarchog, Pembrokeshire.
Indiana.
[edit] Gallery
[edit] Books
- Animal Powered Machines, J. Kenneth Major. Shire Album 128 - Shire Publications 1985. ISBN 0-85263-710-1
- Water-mills windmills and horse-mills of South Africa, James Walton. C Struik Publishers, 1974. ISBN 0-86977-040-3
[edit] See also
- The International Molinological Society
- Museum of Scottish Country Life
- Lambroughton Titwood Farm Horse Mill
