Rayleigh Windmill (EHER 26377)

Tower windmill built in 1798. A steam engine was installed in 1906 and operated to the 1920s. External fabric restored 1970s.

Site of old windmill. <1> <2> To the east of the castle inner bailey, a tower mill without sails now 'incongruously embattled', a visually successful landmark. <3> See also <4> <5>. The mill There are 13th-century documentary references to the King’s mill, but its location is unknown. However, given the local topography it was probably a wind-mill sited on the higher point of the ridge. Windmills In the 18th century Rayleigh had three windmills, two near the corner of Eastwood Road and Queens Road, the other beside Hockley Road. All three were post-mills and largely timber-built. They were demolished in the later 19th century, although the Hockley Road mill-mound survives. In 1809 a fourth windmill (TQ 8063 9094) was built, in the area between the castle and Bellingham Lane. This was a brick-built tower mill. In 1906 the power source for this structure changed from wind to an oil engine, and later electricity was used. It remained in use until just before the Second World War and has recently been restored. <6> August 1957. Grade II listed. Early 19th century tower windmill. Fully restored externally in the 1970s with sails, cap and fantail. <7> <8> <9> February 1972. Field survey. A well-known landmark but long since disassociated with milling and it has no cap, sails or gallery for many years. The top has been castellated. There are six storeys and the tower begins to taper above the bottom two. There is no machinery of interest and the building is little more than a distorted shell hardly worth, in its present state, of its own contribution to the landscape. Present Use: Used to some extent by local societies, store. Condition: Fair. There are hopes of restoration SITE BACKGROUND: Rayleigh Mill was built in 1809 and is the tallest remaining mill in the county. Its cap, an impressive 18 metres (60 feet) from ground level, shares the skyline with the church, towering above the mound of Raleigh Castle. When wind-powered, the mill had three pairs of stones driven by two spring sails and two cloth-covered commons. Milling by wind seems to have stopped by the mills centenary, being replaced by an oil engine, then in 1937 by electricity. In 1974, a replacement cap and non-working sails were fitted by Rayleigh Town Council. More recently a stage by the County Millwright has been added by Rochford District Council. Though lacking machinery, its appearance now is very similar to that of its working days. <10> 2011. Field survey. See <11>. NRHE data transfer, 419200: The mill at Rayleigh is a redbrick tower mill with six floors, the bottom two forming a round house. It was built in 1798. The cap and sails were removed in 1906 when a steam engine was installed to drive the stones. The mill continued to work into the 1920s. In 1974 a new cap and fantail were fitted followed by two common and two single shuttered sails. The mill no longer contains any machinery. <12> Tower windmill. Early 19th century. A six-storey brick landmark used for many years as a store, with no machinery, cap sails or gallery and 'castellated' top. Fully restored externally in 1970s with sails, cap and fantail. <13> Recorded by NRIM. <14> See also <15> <16> <17>. NRHE data transfer, 503094: Tower mill built in 1809 from red brick. It ceased working with wind power in 1906 and by engine circa 1925. It was restored in 1974 with new sail, fantail and replica waggon cap. Listed Grade II. <18> See also <19> <20> <21>.