THE pair of windmills at Clayton, known today simply as Jack and Jill, are prominent local landmarks that enjoy magnificent views across the Sussex Downs. Ever since they ceased operating commercially soon after 1900, the windmills and their associated sheds and cottages have been occupied by people drawn to their unusual architecture and this dramatic location.
Another chapter in this century of domestic occupation has just begun with the completion of a project by Featherstone Young Architects (FYA), begun in 2016, to modernise and expand a house at the site.
A windmill is first documented at Clayton in a lease of September 1765. This describes a mill ‘lately erected’ by the son of 6th Viscount Montagu, which was given on a 99- year lease to one Edward Oram of Clayton. Through the research of Martin Brunnarius, published in the journal of the Sussex Industrial Archaeological Society (1980), we know that Duncton Mill—as it became known— was operated by Oram for the next 20 years. It was a post mill, that is to say, the structure and mechanism was supported and rotated to face the wind on a central, supporting post. In this case, the ground floor of the timber mill was skirted in brick.
In the 1840s, the tenant miller of Duncton Mill, James Mitchell, also purchased a post mill that had been overtaken by the growth of nearby Brighton; new buildings had literally taken the wind from its sails. According to the testimony of an old shepherd in 1915, the frame of the mill, complete with its 18ftlong central post, was dragged five miles to Clayton on a great sledge; the horses initially harnessed to it proved unreliable, so were substituted by steadier and more reliable oxen. In its new location just below Duncton Mill, the new mill—the future Jill —was modernised and set to work.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 04, 2019-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 04, 2019-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
