Site overview

Dyke Mill is a Grade II listed smock mill at Dyke, near Bourne. It was first erected in the eighteenth century in Deeping Fen as a pumping engine, then moved to Dyke in 1845 and converted to corn milling. The mill is a rare survival in Lincolnshire, described locally as the shell of the county's last remaining smock mill.

Its working life ended in 1927 after the loss of a sail. The surviving structure preserves the distinctive smock-mill form, with a masonry base and timber upper structure, after the loss of its original working machinery and wind-powered function.

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

Dyke Mill began as an eighteenth-century wind-powered pumping engine in Deeping Fen. In 1845 it was moved to Dyke, near Bourne, and adapted for corn milling. This movement from drainage work to corn milling gives the mill a distinctive lifecycle within Lincolnshire's windmill history, linking fenland water management with later village milling.

The building is a smock mill, a form with a sloping timber upper structure above a base, and it is recognised as the last remaining smock mill in Lincolnshire. It worked under the Somerfield name and ceased operating in 1927 when a sail was lost. The surviving shell was listed at Grade II on 29 September 1972 under the official name Dyke Mill.

Although no longer used for its original purpose, the building remains a rare structural survival of a Lincolnshire smock mill and a visible reminder of the county's former wind-powered drainage and corn-milling traditions.

Timeline

Smock mill shell survives

The surviving shell is recorded as the last remaining smock mill in Lincolnshire.
1700–1799

Pumping mill erected

The smock mill was first erected in the eighteenth century in Deeping Fen as a pumping engine.
1845

Mill moved to Dyke

The mill was moved to Dyke in 1845 and converted to corn milling.
1927

Wind-powered work ceased

Somerfield's smock mill ceased to operate in 1927 after a sail was lost.
1972

Listed building designation

Dyke Mill was listed at Grade II.

Sources and records

Historic England listed building entry: Dyke Mill
Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology catalogue entry: Bourne, Dyke Smock Mill
Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology catalogue entry: Dyke, Windmill
Dyke History article: The Windmill in Dyke
Windmill World site entry: Dyke smock mill
List of windmills in Lincolnshire