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The site of the windmill on the summit of Church Hill from the Muntham area. |
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
THE WINDMILL ON CHURCH HILL
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The site of the windmill on the summit of Church Hill from the Muntham area. |
Copyright Valerie Martin 2001.
Originally printed in the Findon News, March 2002.
The first windmill I can find in Findon history was situated high on the green plateau of Church Hill above Findon and most likely came under the auspices of the Manor of Findon. The period for this would have been the eighteenth century.
I have discovered the name of one man who I believe was a miller at the Church Hill windmill. This was Mr Sheppard. A description of Findon Rental Tithes for 1779–1797 gives the following information but gives no indication of the site of the windmill, surely it must have been on Church Hill?
| 1783 | William Sheppard paid tithe of | 15s |
| 1784 | ditto | 15s |
| 1785 | ditto | 15s |
| 1786 | ditto | 15s |
| 1787 | William Sheppard, miller paid tithe of | 15s |
| 1788 | ditto | 15s |
In 1794, during William Frankland’s days at Muntham Court, his steward was William Davy and he made a note to the effect —
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"Sent a Grist to Mill. Out of 2 Bushells all but a Gallon & ˝ of Wheat, Received 1 Bushell & 3 pecks of Flour & 1 Bushell of Bran";
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The windmill to the north-east of the village above the racing gallops was not built until twenty-nine years later, so the flour and bran was obviously ground at an earlier windmill, probably on Church Hill.
It was much later, in 1931, that E. Cecil Curwen, M.A., F.S.A., disclosed that on the summit of Church Hill was evidence of three small dimples which marked the site of an old post mill and its out-buildings, as shown in the aerial photograph taken around 1930.
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Aerial view of Church Hill in Findon pre 1931. From the Downs west of Findon and looking north. On the summit, at the left hand side of the photograph, there are supposed to be three small dimples which mark the site of the old post mill and its outhouses. These were visible in the 1930s. |
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Church Hill above St. John the Baptist Church, January 2001. |
I have walked the ploughed field on the summit, as had the late John Pelling, and in one particular spot there is indeed an amount of debris to indicate the likely site of the old windmill. When John investigated the area he discovered rubble and flat bricks.
The conclusion is that Church Hill is the site of an earlier windmill in Findon.
Continue if you would like to read about the windmill built in 1823 in Findon — In the Beginning There was a Windmill.
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — was launched by Valerie Martin in January 1999 and will grow to be a historical record of life in Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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