1820
Tower mill built
The Haverhill tower corn mill was built around 1820.
Site overview
Mill Hill Mill at Haverhill was a tower corn mill built around 1820. It was notable for its later annular sail, a circular wind-wheel arrangement fitted around 1860 by the owner, Mr Ruffle. The mill ceased work around 1910.
Its tower was demolished in 1945, but the base remained in use as a store and was later incorporated into a dwelling by 1983. The surviving record therefore concerns a substantially altered former mill, with the base rather than a complete tower representing the remaining structure. The mill is significant in windmill history for the unusual annular sail, one of only four known examples of that fitting, none of which survive.
Map
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No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Mill Hill Mill at Haverhill was a tower windmill used for grinding corn. It was built around 1820 and later became associated with one of the most unusual sail arrangements used on English windmills. Around 1860 the owner, Mr Ruffle, fitted an annular sail, effectively a circular wind wheel.
Only four windmills are known to have had this type of sail, and none of the annular sails survives. The mill continued in operation until about 1910. After the end of working life the tower remained for a time, but it was demolished in 1945.
The base was not removed completely; it was used as a store and had been incorporated into a dwelling by 1983. The present survival is therefore not a complete windmill tower but the remnant base of a former tower corn mill absorbed into later domestic use. The principal documented features are the corn-milling function, the unusual annular sail, the approximate dates of construction and cessation, and the post-closure reuse of the remaining base.
Timeline
1860
Annular sail fitted
An annular sail was fitted around 1860 by Mr Ruffle.
1910
Working life ended
The tower corn mill ceased work around 1910.
1945
Tower demolished
The tower was demolished, leaving the base in use as a store.
1983
Base incorporated into dwelling
The remaining base had been incorporated into a dwelling by 1983.
Sources and records
Historic England Research Records entry: Haverhill tower windmill
Historic England educational image: Windmill at Haverhill, Suffolk
Windmill World entry: Haverhill windmill
Mills Archive entry: Ruffle's Mill, Haverhill
Suffolk Mills Group list: The Windmills of Suffolk
Historic England educational image: Windmill at Haverhill, Suffolk
Windmill World entry: Haverhill windmill
Mills Archive entry: Ruffle's Mill, Haverhill
Suffolk Mills Group list: The Windmills of Suffolk