Tag Archives: Kent

Darland Banks Windmill

Darland BAnks mill Gillingham

Detail from an old postcard featuring Darland Banks Windmill in Gillingham, Kent,c. 1905.

Star Windmill, as it was known locally, was a wooden smock mill built on a single story brick base. It was located in Darland Banks, near Gillingham, Kent, England. The mill dated to around 1820 and milled corn right up until the late 1910s to provide flour for the nearby army garrison. It was demolished in 1925. No trace of the mill can now be seen at the location.

star windmill

An early postcard of Star Windmill in Darland Banks, Kent, c.1905.

Over time Star Mill was also known by various other names. These included: Darland Mill, Upper Chatham Mill and Austin’s Mill.

Windmill darland banks

The smock mill in Darland Banks, between Chatham and Gillingham in Kent, on a picture postcard posted in 1907.

Woodchurch Mill

woodchurch windmill

A vintage picture postcard of the smock mill in Woodchurch, Kent, c.1925.

Although, a mill stood at least from at least 1729, the smock mill, we can see in Woodchurch, near Ashford, in Kent, south-east England is believed to date back to the early ninetenth century. Indeed up until 1940 there were two mills on the site and these twin mills were known as the black (or upper) mill and the white (or lower) mill. The white mill that still exists to this day continued to grind corn commercially up until 1926 and over a great many years has been restored to near working condition.

Woodchurch Mill is an eight-sided, four-storey smock mill built on a single-storey brick base. It has a Kentish-style cap and is winded by a fantail. The mill once drove three pairs of millstones and was used for grinding corn.

Woodchurch smock mill

An aerial photograph of Woodchurch smock mill in 1952.

The mill is now owned by Ashford Borough Council and is currently open on Sundays and Bank Holidays between Easter and the end of September, from 2pm to 5pm.

woodchurch windmill

The white smock mill in Woodchurch in its fully restored state. One source dates this mill to 1820.

Rolvenden Post Mill

rolvenden windmill

An old picture postcard of the Old Mill, granary buildings, and council housing, at Rolvenden, c.1918.

Rolvenden Mill is a post mill built on a single storey brick roundhouse. A windmill is believed have stood on this spot from at least 1596 but the current mill probably dates back to 1772. It probably went out of commercial use in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Following an extended period of disuse and the mill falling into disrepair it was fully restored in 1955.

rolvenden wind mill

An old archive photograph of Rolvenden windmill in Kent as it looked in the late 1910s.

The mill now has two pairs of millstones, in a head and tail arrangement. It is Grade II listed.

rolvenden windmill kent

A recent photograph of Rolvenden Windmill in Kent. Also visible is the former granary, now a house.

Keston Mill

Keston Mill

A print of a lovely watercolour painting of a farmworker and the mill on Keston Common, Kent.

The post mill in Keston was built in 1716 and is the oldest surviving windmill in the historic county of Kent. The mill is located in the garden of a privately owned house and although the machinery is intact, it is not in working order. Public access is very limited. Details of any open days can be found at: kestonwindmill dot com.

keston windmill

The post mill in Keston, Kent, southeast England, c.1925.

Keston was once a village near Bromley in Kent, south-east England. It is, however, now very much part of the London Borough of Bromley. The mill’s postcode is BR2 6BF.

keston bromley windmill

The early 18th century windmill on Keston Common, Bromley, Kent. c.1910.

Stelling Minnis Windmill

Stelling Minnis Windmill

An interesting photograph, sent in by Gary Morse of Folkestone, showing some maintenance being done to the sails of the windmill in Stelling Minnis, near Canterbury, Kent. The windmill was built in in 1866 and unusually was in commercial use until the late 1960s. It is now owned by Kent County Council and open to the public every Sunday afternoon between Easter and the end of September each year.