Wandsworth Common Windmill

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The mill in 2005
The mill in 2005

Wandsworth Common Windmill (TQ 267 745 51°27′18″N 0°10′41″W / 51.455, -0.178) is a conserved grade II listed[1] smock mill at Wandsworth Common, in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

Contents

[edit] History

Wandsworth Common Windmill was built in 1837 to drain water from the railway cutting of the London and Southampton Railway. The water was pumped into an ornamental lake on Wandsworth Common known as the Black Sea, which had been dug by Mr Wilson, the founder of Price's Candle Works. The mill was working c1870,[2] but the Black Sea was drained and filled in in 1884.[1] The mill then lost its purpose and ceased work, with the sails and fantail being removed.[2]

[edit] Description

For an explanation of the various pieces of machinery, see Mill machinery.

Wandsworth Common Windmill is a small hexagonal smock mill built on a low brick base. It had a small cap and was powered by four Patent sails. The cap was winded by a fantail. The smock stands today, with a reconstructed cap, replacing the pyramidal roof it bore in the 1960s.[2]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Windpump called The Windmill, Windmill Road SW18, Wandsworth, Wandsworth, Greater London. English Heritage. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  2. ^ a b c Farries, Kenneth G and Mason, Martin T (1966). The Windmills of Surrey and Inner London. London: Charles Skilton, 212-219. 
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Greater London Windmills
Surviving windmills
Arkley • Brixton • Keston • Plumstead Common • Shirley • Upminster • Wandsworth Common • Wimbledon Common
Lost windmills
Windmills in the United Kingdom
v • d • e
Surrey Windmills
Surviving post mills
Surviving smock mills
Buckland • Wandsworth Common*
Surviving tower mills
Lost Smock mills
Lost Vertical Axis mills
* denotes sites in Greater London
Windmills in the United Kingdom