1822
Mill shown on Bryant map
Mile End Farm Mill first appears in the recorded map evidence on Andrew Bryant's 1822 map of Hertfordshire.
Site overview
Mile End Farm Mill, also known as Reed Windmill, is a former tower corn mill at Reed. The earliest recorded appearance of the mill is on Andrew Bryant's map of Hertfordshire in 1822. It was a four-storey tower mill with four sails and worked as a corn mill during the nineteenth century.
Recorded millers include William Giffen, Frederick Giffen, and Thomas Clayden. The mill worked until 1890, was truncated around 1900, and the tower was incorporated into a house in the 1970s. The surviving building is therefore a reduced and converted tower-mill survival rather than a complete working 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
Mile End Farm Mill stands at Reed and is also known as Reed Windmill. Its earliest recorded appearance is on Andrew Bryant's 1822 map of Hertfordshire, which places the tower mill within the early nineteenth-century wind-powered corn-milling landscape of the village.
The mill was a four-storey tower mill with four sails. It worked as a corn mill through much of the nineteenth century. William Giffen is recorded as miller from about 1850 to 1876, followed by Frederick Giffen from 1876 to 1889 and Thomas Clayden from 1889 to 1890. The mill ceased working in 1890.
After closure, Mile End Farm Mill was reduced in height. The tower was truncated around 1900, leaving the surviving structure without its original cap, sails, and upper working form. In the 1970s the reduced tower was incorporated into a house. The building now represents the preserved lower fabric and footprint of the former tower mill, marking Reed's nineteenth-century wind-powered corn-milling history in converted domestic form.
Timeline
1850–1876
William Giffen worked the mill
William Giffen is recorded as miller at Mile End Farm Mill from about 1850 to 1876.
1876–1889
Frederick Giffen worked the mill
Frederick Giffen is recorded as miller from 1876 to 1889.
1889–1890
Thomas Clayden worked the mill
Thomas Clayden is recorded as miller from 1889 to 1890.
1890
Working use ended
Mile End Farm Mill worked until 1890.
1900
Tower truncated
The former tower mill was truncated around 1900.
1970–1979
Tower incorporated into house
The truncated tower was incorporated into a house during the 1970s.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive site record
Wikipedia article: Mile End Farm Mill, Reed
List of windmills in Hertfordshire
Photographers Resource windmills list
Mills Archive site record
Wikipedia article: Mile End Farm Mill, Reed
List of windmills in Hertfordshire
Photographers Resource windmills list