51
TOOTHILL WINDMILL*
BY PAUL BAKER
THE windmill which used to stand just north of the Green
Man Inn at Toothill, near Ongar, was typical of the post
mills of south-west and central Essex. Its white weatherboarded
body surmounted a tall roundhouse of red brick and it probably
contained two sets of stones and a "bolter" or flour-dressing
machine. At the time of its erection the mill had four common
sails which were carried on a wooden windshaft.
The earliest mention of the mill is to be found in a Map of
the County of ESSEX, from an actual survey made in the year
1824. By C. & I. Greenwood. . . . Corrected to the present
period and published Jany 1st 1831. The mill is not marked on
a map of 1811, but is mentioned in the land tax assessments
after 1825. It was probably, therefore, built about 1824.
Before the mill was ten years old it was struck by lightning
and almost destroyed. Lengthy reports appeared in the
Mechanics' Magazine and in the Chelmsford Chronicle. The
account which was printed in the issue of the latter, dated
June 26th, 1829, seems worthy of reproduction as an example
of the journalistic style of the period.
About half-past five o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday the 18th,
Ongar and its vicinity was visited by a dreadful storm of thunder,
accompanied by lightning, from the effects of which a windmill, the
property of Mr. Rayner, situated at Toothill. in the parish of Stanford
Rivers, was nearly destroyed, and the miller was so shockingly mutilated
that his recovery is considered doubtful.
A very heavy cloud was observed to descend over the mill, which
stands upon an eminence, and at the same instant a hissing noise was
succeeded by an explosion resembling the discharge of artillery. The
wife of the unfortunate miller, hearing the report, opened the door of
her cottage, and was the first to observe the unthought-of calamity :
she was nearly suffocated by the sulphureous vapour which impregnated
the air, and quickly filled the house. She had scarcely viewed the
appalling demolition of the mill, when the heart-rending shrieks of her
husband, calling for assistance, met her ear. In a state of distraction
she alarmed Mr. Randal, a neighbour, who, with several others, soon
assembled ; but the awful spectacle so rivetted them to the spot, that
some time elapsed before sufficient courage enabled them to ascend
the stairs. A young man ; (nephew to Mr. Rayner,) as soon as he
was aware of the circumstances, without hesitation, led the way, and,
followed by the others, immediately went to the assistance of the un-
fortunate sufferer. The scene which presented itself on reaching the
second floor baffles all description. [There follows a description of
the miller's injuries.]
To describe the state of the mill is a task more difficult but less
painful. The lightning, it would appear, first struck the middlings end,
a term given to some iron braces which afford support to the sails, and
* The full paper (with eighteen illustrations), of which this is a condensed version, is in
the Essex Museum Library.