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Corn milling function recorded
Horndon-on-the-Hill Post Mill is recorded as a post mill used for corn milling.
Site overview
Horndon-on-the-Hill Post Mill was a post corn mill near the church at Horndon-on-the-Hill. The mill stood about 50 yards west-north-west of the church and was early nineteenth century in date on cartographic evidence. The mill body was taken down in 1917, leaving the roundhouse to be converted into a work room.
Later records identify surviving brick piers, cross trees, and the roundhouse floor, with the remains used as a pergola in a front garden. A comparative Essex survey recorded the site as a low mound in a housing estate garden, with the surviving substructure still traceable despite decay.
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
Horndon-on-the-Hill Post Mill was a former post corn mill. It stood about 50 yards west-north-west of the church and is recorded as early nineteenth century in date from cartographic evidence.
The mill body was taken down in 1917, ending the survival of the working post mill above its base. The roundhouse was left in place and converted into a work room. Later photographic and survey records documented the surviving substructure, including brick piers, cross trees, and the roundhouse floor. These elements are now in a front garden and have been used as a pergola.
A comparative survey of Essex windmills recorded the site as a low mound in the garden of a housing estate. It noted that the remaining fabric was overgrown and decaying, but that the basic post-mill substructure, especially the brick piers and cross trees normally hidden by a roundhouse, could still be traced. The site preserves an unusually informative base survival of a former post mill in Horndon-on-the-Hill.
Timeline
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Base remains used as pergola
The surviving piers, cross trees, and roundhouse floor remained in a front garden and were used as a pergola.
1800–1830
Post mill recorded by cartographic evidence
Cartographic evidence indicates that the Horndon-on-the-Hill post mill was early nineteenth century in date.
1917
Mill body taken down
The post mill body was taken down in 1917, leaving the roundhouse to be converted into a work room.
1933–1940
Roundhouse photographed
Photographic records captured the surviving roundhouse in the 1930s and 1940.
1972–1974
Cross trees and piers recorded
Photographs and survey records documented the surviving cross trees, brick piers, and foundations in the 1970s.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive site record
Windmills in Essex comparative survey
Guy Blythman photographic register
Thurrock local history article
Mills Archive site record
Windmills in Essex comparative survey
Guy Blythman photographic register
Thurrock local history article