1823
Tower mill built by this date
The Victoria County History records that a tower mill was built by 1823 on the Newton road close to the parish boundary.
Site overview
Harston windmill is recorded by Windmill World as a tower corn mill, now truncated to a surviving base. The Victoria County History for Harston records that a windmill erected after enclosure near the turn to Newton burnt down around 1830, and that a tower mill was built by 1823 on the Newton road close to the parish boundary. Windmill World and the Windmill Photographic Register identify the surviving site as Harston tower mill and record photographic evidence of the surviving base in the twentieth century, including views from 1935 and 1972.
No detailed construction account, builder, working miller, machinery description or final working date has been identified in the consulted sources. The surviving evidence points to a former tower corn mill represented principally by its base rather than a complete tower, cap or sails.
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
The former windmill at Harston is identified by Windmill World as Harston windmill, a tower corn mill now surviving as a truncated base. The Victoria County History for Harston records two relevant windmill facts in the Newton Road area: a windmill erected after enclosure near the turn to Newton burnt down around 1830, and a tower mill was built by 1823 on the Newton road close to the parish boundary. The coordinates correspond with the Harston tower-mill site recorded by Windmill World.
The Windmill Photographic Register gives further evidence for the survival of the base, recording National Monuments Record photographs of the surviving base, an A. C. Smith photograph from May 1972, and University of Kent material showing the surviving base in June 1935. The accessible consulted sources do not record the original number or type of sails, the cap form, the windshaft, gearing, stones, miller names or the date at which the tower was reduced. The present site is therefore documented as the remnant of a former tower corn mill, with survival limited to the base rather than a complete standing windmill.
Timeline
1830
Earlier windmill burnt down
The Victoria County History records that a windmill near the turn to Newton burnt down around 1830.
1935
Surviving base photographed
The Windmill Photographic Register records a photograph of the surviving base in June 1935.
1972
Base photographed by A. C. Smith
The Windmill Photographic Register records an A. C. Smith photograph of the surviving base in May 1972.
Sources and records
Windmill World entry for Harston windmill
Victoria County History entry for Harston
Windmill Photographic Register entry for Harston tower mill
Mills Archive record for Harston tower mill
Victoria County History entry for Harston
Windmill Photographic Register entry for Harston tower mill
Mills Archive record for Harston tower mill