Publications
Windmill Sweeps in Sussex and Kent, by Michael Yates, published 2009 in Sussex Industrial History (issue no. 39, article, pp.3-12, ISSN: 0263-5151) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16389/39] Download PDF
Abstract:The windmill was once a very common sight in Sussex and Kent and over three hundred of them are recorded in photographs covering the period from the mid nineteenth century to the 1920s. We are all very aware that the sweeps of these were an extremely important part of the mill machinery and that a mill working with its full complement of sweeps is an object of great beauty and a potent reminder of a past now long gone.
Perhaps we are not so aware of the large variety of sweep designs that occur across the South East of England, a subject that is usually treated briefly in the published literature. For example, Martin Brunnarius, in his book The Windmills of Sussex, mentions variations such as common, single and double shutter spring and patent sweeps but rarely ventures into giving any details about their design. Rev. Peter Hemming, in Windmills in Sussex, gives only a brief mention of sweep types and William Coles Finch, in Watermills and Windmills, in his survey of Kent windmills, follows a similar pattern.
A detailed study of the 250 or so photographs that record the mills of Sussex and Kent as they were at the end of their working life shows many variations in sweep design and it is probable that over twenty different types existed. This paper attempts to detail these design features and considers the distribution of sweep types and compares and contrasts these on the three mill types, post, smock and tower, within and between the two counties. For interest, brief comparisons are made with windmills in Surrey and Norfolk. Consideration is also given as to whether local pockets of similar sweep design can be found indicating the influence of a local millwright.
Perhaps we are not so aware of the large variety of sweep designs that occur across the South East of England, a subject that is usually treated briefly in the published literature. For example, Martin Brunnarius, in his book The Windmills of Sussex, mentions variations such as common, single and double shutter spring and patent sweeps but rarely ventures into giving any details about their design. Rev. Peter Hemming, in Windmills in Sussex, gives only a brief mention of sweep types and William Coles Finch, in Watermills and Windmills, in his survey of Kent windmills, follows a similar pattern.
A detailed study of the 250 or so photographs that record the mills of Sussex and Kent as they were at the end of their working life shows many variations in sweep design and it is probable that over twenty different types existed. This paper attempts to detail these design features and considers the distribution of sweep types and compares and contrasts these on the three mill types, post, smock and tower, within and between the two counties. For interest, brief comparisons are made with windmills in Surrey and Norfolk. Consideration is also given as to whether local pockets of similar sweep design can be found indicating the influence of a local millwright.