Wareham
Parish Wareham Holy Trinity
O.S Grid Reference SY 932 864 [Lat 50.6771 - Long -2.0976]
Nearest contour height 30m
Topography Good - on a ridge to south of river at Redcliffe
Archaeology
Earliest Dating C18th ??
Records
Documents
Maps
Early maps
Ogilby 1675
Taylor 1765 Extract below
Taylors Map 1765
There are several watermills on the River Frome immediately south of the town.
Tithe Map (c1840) Windmill Westhill and ground between
EXTRACT REQUIRED
1st Edition OS map Surveyed 1886 and published 1888 (extract below)
Present OS map
Google Maps
The Windmill
The Millers
Present site condition No sign - now a caravan site.
Notes and comments
To the south east of the ancient Saxon town of Wareham, the Tithe Apportionment and associated map for Wareham Holy Trinity parish[1] shows a field named as..... Windmill Westhill and ground between.[2] To be checked
A fieldname[3] Windmill Hill is also found at the above grid reference on the east side of Harp Hill. This site is near the present Redcliffe Farm on the higher ground forming a small ridge (near the present caravan site) on the south bank of the River Frome. Although a pre Saxon settlement with burh defences and an important channel port in early times, Wareham declined with the growth of nearby Poole. The date of the mill is uncertain.
An excavation was carried out in this area by R A Farrar (Redcliffe Farm Ridge)
(Ref : SY 98 NW; NAR = 36.00; PRN = 26296) 1975-80. Pottery finds from early times - check to see if anything else found ???
The Salisbury Journal of 2nd September 1782[4] records the sale of the Windmill Public House, West Street, Wareham. Later on 21st March, the marriage of Mr Seymer, miller, Wareham is recorded. Later in the same year, on 16th May, the same publication records the death of Ephraim Dean, miller of Wareham - this may refer to the watermill ?
There are also various title deeds referring to the Windmill Inn dating from 1766 to 1783[5]
[1] M J Bone (SDNQ Vol XXX1 pp11-18) notes this site as Arne - a village some 2-3 miles to the east
of Wareham. Wareham would have been the main centre in the area with Arne being quite remote
and difficult to access.
[2] Tithe Apportionment TA 73 (Wareham Holy Trinity).
[3] From A Gazetteer of Dorset place names - a supplement (DCC Environmental Records) 1998
[4] From an extract from Salisbury Journal by Ken Kirsopp of Basingstoke via Mills Research Group (March 1999)
[5] DCRO - Ryder of Rempstone Archive Cat ref D/RWR - T186/214/279/416/E14/E34