Most of the Inhabitants of Widdington know the history of the important buildings of the village, i.e. The Church, Priors Hall etc, but there was another important building unfortunately no longer standing which played an essential part in village life. The Widdington Windmill.

This picture is part of a small picture Postcard of Widdington.

We believe it to be the only photo in existence of our old windmill... , but no there were more and as you can see on this page we have found some we always hope of finding more, can you help?

Millers Name                          Date

Edward Ebrington.                1578

Matthew Stanes.                    1749

William Barker.                      1799

George Rayment.                   1799- 1812

Adam Howard.                       1821

Wright.                                    1832

George Wright.                      1840

William Howard.                   1840

George Perry

& William Woodcock.          1875

AD Robinson.                        1878

George Perry.                         1886

Ralph Iredale.                        1898

Widdington mill was a post mill, built in the early 1600s a map of 1633 shows a mill on the site but carvings on the mill postdate it as 1660 so perhaps there could have been an earlier mill, which was replaced. To reach the mill with ether grain the villagers would have travelled down Spring Hill, at Shipton Bridge Farm, turn right, up along the bridle path to the top of the hill The mill was sited in the field on the left hand side just before the bridle path that runs left to right to Newport. The mill had a pair of French millstones, a dressing machine, lime kiln, dwelling house and land and in 1799 the miller

George Rayment, insured the mill for £200

The standing and going fee for £60, and the stock and utensils for £40, in 1821 the freehold was rented to Adam Howard for £25, a year.

For a long time the mill was run by William Woodcock Perry and later by George Woodcock Perry of Widdington Hall, both farmers.

The mill had a single storey roundhouse, tail pole winding, weather board body, mansard roof, single shuttered sail turning clockwise and later, two pairs of grind stones. The last miller was Ralph Iredale in 1898. The Perry’s had a steam engine to drive the mill if the wind failed but the mill was never put over to complete steam power. The mill fell into disuse in 1902, and was taken down in 1910, some of the timbers being used in the first house in Spring Hill, as you enter the village. There is also a postcard showing a small picture of the mill. ( for further information , see Sir Claud Hollis History of Widdington and Essex Windmills and mill Wrights by Kenneth G. Farries Volume 5.

Mr Alan Calver,  March 1992

This Wonderful article was taken from the Village chronicles

The first mill on this site was built in 1423 this lasted till 1633 then in 1660 a newer mill was built  (Garyd 2015)

A little about Post Mills

The Post mill, the sails are built into the wooden body which houses the machinery. The whole mill body is pivoted on a massive wooden post, allowing the body and hence the sails to be turned to face the wind. The body is turned either by using a long lever called a tailpole which can be pushed around by the miller or by animal power, or else by a fantail.

A fantail is a system of gearing driven by a fan mounted at the rear of the mill which acts rather like a wind vane and automatically keeps the mill facing to wind. The post mill is generally thought o be the earliest type and was the most popular. Some 185 of the mills in Essex in the mid nineteenth century were of this kind.