1858–1872
Mill marked on Ordnance Survey map
The pumping mill was marked on the 1858–72 Ordnance Survey map.
Site overview
Copton Windmill is a tower pumping mill at Copton, Faversham. Built in 1863 for Faversham Water Company, it pumped water for the town's waterworks rather than grinding corn. The three-storey brick tower formerly had a Kentish-style cap, four patent sails, a cast-iron windshaft, fantail winding, and a plunger pump, with oil-engine auxiliary power also used.
The mill worked by wind until 1930, when the cap and sails were removed and replaced by a 6,000-gallon water tank. The tower therefore survives as a converted waterworks structure, retaining the form of a former wind-powered pumping mill.
Map
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Copton Windmill was built in 1863 for Faversham Water Company. It was not a corn mill, but a wind-powered pumping mill serving the Faversham waterworks. The mill stood at Copton, south of Faversham, and was marked on the 1858–72 and 1903–10 Ordnance Survey maps.
The surviving structure is a three-storey brick tower. In working use it had a Kentish-style cap, four patent sails carried on a cast-iron windshaft, and fantail winding. The sails were each about 37 feet long and 5 feet wide. The mill was rated at 15 horsepower and could pump about 10,000 imperial gallons of water per hour through a plunger pump. An oil engine provided auxiliary power.
Copton Windmill worked by wind until 1930. In that year the cap and sails were removed and replaced by a 6,000-gallon water tank, changing the tower from a wind-powered mill into a water-tank structure. The former mill remained associated with water-supply use through Faversham Water Company, Mid Kent Water Company, and South East Water. Its surviving tower preserves the visible form of a rare Kent wind-powered pumping mill.
Timeline
1863
Pumping windmill built
Copton Windmill was built for Faversham Water Company as a wind-powered pumping mill.
1930
Wind-powered pumping ended
The mill worked by wind until 1930.
1930
Water tank installed
The cap and sails were removed and replaced by a 6,000-gallon water tank.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Wikipedia article: Copton Pumping Windmill
List of windmills in Kent
Mills Archive references
Wikipedia article: Copton Pumping Windmill
List of windmills in Kent
Mills Archive references