Mill location TR 362 491 Base storeys Single-storey base No. of sails Four Purpose Gristmill Windshaft Cast iron | Storeys Three-storey smock Smock sides Eight-sided Winding Windmill fantail Type of sails Windmill sail | |
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Year built Early nineteenth century | ||
Ripple Windmill is a Grade II listed smock mill in Ringwould, Kent, England, that was built in Drellingore and moved to Ringwould in the early nineteenth century. Having been stripped of machinery and used as a television mast, it is now under restoration as a working windmill.
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History
A windmill was marked on Robert Morden's map of 1695, a coastal map of Kent dated 1770 and the 1819-43 Ordnance Survey map. Ripple mill was built in the early nineteenth century at Drellingore, in the Hawkinge parish. When the mill was moved, it was sectioned by cutting the cant posts in half lengthways, and bolting them back together at the new site. One such cant post can still be seen in the mill. A girl was killed by being struck by one of the sails, which came close to the ground, circa 1834. In 1895, Trinity House contributed towards repairs to the mill, which was marked as a navigational landmark. The mill lost two sails in 1927 and worked after that on the other two sails, assisted by an oil engine. The mill was working during the Second World War but in 1947 the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings decided not to issue an appeal to restore the mill due to a lack of local support. In 1955, the mill was acquired by Rediffusion Ltd and stripped of machinery. The smock was festooned with aerials and used as a television relay station. Rediffusion sold the mill in 1976. The new cap was placed on the mill in 1994, with the windshaft from Shiremark Mill, Capel, Surrey.
Description
Ripple Mill is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. There is no stage. It has four single patent sails and a Kentish-style cap. The mill is winded by a fantail. The mill had three pairs of millstones, driven underdrift.
Millers
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