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Corn mill in use
The mill worked as a wind-powered tower corn mill.
Site overview
Cowbit Mill is a former tower corn mill at Cowbit in South Holland. It was erected in 1798 as a short, well-battered tower mill and was later raised by another floor, probably shortly before 1815. The tower survives today without its cap and sails.
Historic photographs record the mill in the twentieth century, including a 1933 view of Newbon's Mill. The surviving structure preserves the distinctive concave profile produced by the later raising of the original tower. The mill forms part of the South Holland fenland windmill landscape, where tower mills served arable farming communities on the low-lying fen edge.
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
Cowbit Mill was built in 1798 as a short, strongly battered tower mill. It was later raised by another floor, a change thought to have taken place shortly before 1815. This alteration produced the tower's distinctive concave profile, which remains visible in the surviving fabric.
The mill worked as a wind-powered corn mill. Twentieth-century photographs record the building as Newbon's Mill, including a view dated 30 June 1933. Later records and photographs show the surviving tower after the loss of its cap and sails. The present structure is therefore a reduced but recognisable survival of a late eighteenth-century fenland tower mill.
Cowbit Mill stands within the South Holland landscape, where wind-powered corn mills were closely linked to local farming, grain movement, and village economies. The mill no longer survives as a complete working structure, but its battered brick tower remains a clear marker of Cowbit's windmilling history.
Timeline
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Capless tower survives
The tower survives without its cap and sails.
1798
Tower mill erected
Cowbit Mill was erected in 1798 as a short, well-battered tower mill.
1815
Tower raised
The tower was later raised by another floor, probably shortly before 1815.
1933
Mill photographed
Newbon's Mill at Cowbit was photographed on 30 June 1933.
Sources and records
Heritage South Holland article on Newbon's Mill, Cowbit
Heritage South Holland South Holland Windmills article
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive site record
Geograph photograph record
Historic England photographic record
Heritage South Holland South Holland Windmills article
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive site record
Geograph photograph record
Historic England photographic record