Meopham Windmill

Took this on leaving the Kings Arms in Meopham. Lovely meal. The windmill is opposite the pub.

History of windmill taken from the Meopham Parish website:

'The Meopham Windmill was built in 1801 by the three Killick brothers reputedly from old ships timbers purchased from Chatham Dockyard. It was built to a 'Smock' design similar to the brothers' other mill at Strood; the name derives from the similarity to the garment worn by agricultural workers in earlier times. The basic principle of a Smock Mill is that the body of the mill in which the machinery is housed is static and only the 'cap' and sails turn to face the wind.

The mill remained in the Killick family for nearly 90 years when it was sold to John Norton in 1889 and operated under that name until it was closed down in 1965. The mill was driven by the sails until 1927 when the Norton family purchased a 15 h.p. engine from a mill at Boughton. Power from the oil engine was taken into the mill by a drive belt to the first floor.

The cap (and therefore sails) of the mill is turned toward the wind by a series of gearwheels and a wormgear driven by the the 'fantail' situated at the rear of the cap. The sails themselves followed a design by William Cobbett by which the effective area of the sail is automatically adjusted for any wind strength.

In order to preserve this important landmark the Council decided to proceed with restoration and the Mill now serves as the headquarters of the parish council'.