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Archival description
Unidentified mill Item
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Pocket notebook - focus on tide mills

A repurposed Lett's diary for 1936 measuring 7.5 cm x 11.5 cm, containing measurements, notes, calculations and drawings on a variety of engineering and milling matters including the mills listed at 'Place access points' below.

Reference is made to a number of sea or tide meals including unidentified ones at Denham, Wadebridge and St Austell, Cornwall and also to 'Butshead Tide Mill' [Budshead?] at St Budeaux. There are also 8 pages of notes under the headings 'Beech' and 'Stock' detailing the equipment/set-up within two unidentified mills. A further unidentified mill mentioned is 'Little Bentley Mill'.

Further notes on tide mills record that, 'porpoises came up at Barrow Hill Tide Mill, Abridge [Heybridge?], Maldon Essex'. A record is also made of '7 Tide Mills on North coast of Norfolk in the Burnhams'.

Wailes, Reginald (1901-1986), engineer, known as Rex

'Letter from Leipzig'

60 page 'letter' sent to Wailes' wife, Enid. The letter is in the form of a diary recording Wailes' trip to the Leipzig Trade Fair. It records Wailes' impressions of his train trip through Germany, his fellow travellers and a visit to the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The last ten pages record Wailes' trip north of Leipzig 'on the main Berlin road & as soon as we got out of the suburbs, there was a mill to every village we saw. Nearly all were post mills, & nearly all were the same. Patent sails, no round house tailpole with a winch on the end, straight pitched roof, vertical weatherboarding all tarred.' He comments that those mills near the main road had advertisments on their sides.

Wailes records a visit to a mill near Delitzsch where he meets the miller, Kurt Schumann, and 'took many photos, both inside and out'. There was also a visit to an unidentified tower mill, built in 1886, which Schumann described as a 'Hollandsche műhle,' which was brick-built with a fan-tail and octagonal cap. Wailes is particularly struck by the fact that it, 'had a lift instead of a chain for the sack hoist!!'.

A 'poltrok' mill at Rődgen is also visited (converted from a post mill in 1924, the original dating from 1614). Wailes comments, 'the mill is chock full of new machinery and new methods of drive, sufficient of the old being left to make it intensely interesting'.

Wailes concludes the letter, 'Must stop now. Dresden tomorrow'.

Note 'per E.L.B' - Couldson Common Mill

Note entitled, 'per E.L.B.' regarding Coulsdon Common Mill as follows: 'Belonged to a man named Brigden who had a post-mill at Sydenham & a smock (hand winded) at Ewell, Surrey. The mill had two [common] sails & two springs or patents, can't say which. As a lad Brigden's man told me that his boss christened her, which might date the mill to the 50's or early 60's. Went over when a lad about 1884, when I think she had only just finished work'.

Joseph Addison's notebook - Dorset

A notebook belonging to Joseph Addison, found among those belonging to Rex Wailes. The notebook is labelled 'Book No.7' and features detailed notes and drawings in Addison's distinctive hand. Whilst the notebook is not named, the date of the visits recorded in the notebook correspond with photographs of his held in both the Mills Archive collection and by the Historic England Archive.

As well as details of the various mills visited (see 'Place access points' below) and particularly detailed records of the photographs taken, the notebook features copious notes taken from visits to various Dorset libraries as well as to the county archives. The notes include: lists of mills featuring in old maps of Dorset, including several that are unindexed, for example Moor Mill at Higher Nyland; notes taken from 'Hutchinson' at Poole Library, the Great Canford Book 1822 and various other 17th c. to 19th c. property records relating to historic mills and millers in West Lulworth, Canford Magna, Sydling St Nichols, Dorchester, Whitchurch Canonicorum, the Bryanston Estate, Blandford Forum and East Stoke. There are several references to Rex Wailes' work on Dorset mills, including obtaining a 'list of mills supplied by Simmons to Rex Wailes' relating to 7 unidentified mills from Dorchester archives.

Other sections include: detailed drawings of 'Cut Mill' and 'Creekmoor' [Bushels Mill, Poole], Lattiford Mill, Wincanton and at Bryanston; notes on a tour of mills between Beaminster, Uplyme and Lyme Regis following a visit from a Mr and Mrs Willoughby (also cross referencing notes on the area made by Rex Wailes); notes taken after attempting to locate Sow Mill (near Sowley Pond) on the Beaulieu Estate; notes taken on a visit to the site of SW Potteries at Parkstone, Poole.

A large section focuses on the manufacture, location and use of horse gear in Dorset, including notes from Kelly's Directories on horse gear manufacturers, particularly Taylor & Sons, Dorchester and Watson & Haig, Andover. Notes are made following a visit to Birkin House, Dorchester (where a horse gear had been used to draw water from a well until 1957) and of numerous attempts to locate horse gears at various Dorset properties. Detailed drawings are made of of the horse gear at Lower Monkwood Farm, Pilsdon, Bridport and Pylewell House.

Addison, Joseph

Lease of a mill in St Mary of the Castle, Hastings

1 folded sheet measuring 50cm x 38cm, signed and sealed by Mary Dodson, and detailing the grant of a year's lease "of a Mill & in the Parish of St Mary of the Castle in Hasting for one year from Michas 1775. Rent £15". The lease is granted by Mary Dodson, widow, of Rye to Joseph Carswell, baker, of Hastings. The mill is leased together with, "the mill stones, wheels, coggs, staves, sweeps, running tackle and all other implements, utensils and appurtenances to the said mill, stable and ground..."

"The Riverside, Sandwich"

Note on the reverse by Michael Harverson: "I believe oil mill was the group at bridge with the first three lucums".

J Reynolds and H J Bensted, stationers, Sandwich

The Mill Stream

This image is undated; however it cannot be later than 1913 as this copy of the postcard bears a postmark of that date.

Wildt and Kray, postcard publishers

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