1890
Blackshore Windpump built
Blackshore Mill was built around 1890 by Robert Martin of Beccles as a drainage windpump.
Site overview
Blackshore Mill, also known as Blackshore Windpump, is a Grade II listed water-pumping tower mill at Reydon, Suffolk. It was built around 1890 by Robert Martin of Beccles as a drainage mill. The three-storey tower had four patent sails on a cast-iron windshaft, a boat-shaped cap, and a fantail.
Its pump was a three-throw plunger pump. The mill worked for only about four years before the windshaft broke at the poll end and the sails were blown off. It then remained in disrepair for many years.
Restoration began in 2002, and the conserved tower now survives as one of the remaining drainage mills of the Suffolk coastal marshes.
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
Blackshore Mill was constructed around 1890 by Robert Martin, the Beccles millwright. It was built as a water-pumping tower mill for the Reydon marshes after Martin secured the contract for its construction. The mill was a three-storey brick tower about 26 feet high.
It had a boat-shaped cap winded by a fantail, four patent sails carried on a cast-iron windshaft, and cast-iron machinery operating a three-throw plunger pump. Its working life was short. After about four years the windshaft broke at the poll end, and the sails were blown off.
The damaged mill then remained in disrepair for a long period. Restoration work began in 2002 to preserve the structure. The Grade II listed windpump survives as a conserved drainage mill and a visible remnant of the water-management landscape beside the Blyth and Reydon marshes.
Timeline
1894
Working life ended after damage
After about four years of work the windshaft broke at the poll end and the sails were blown off.
2002
Restoration began
Restoration work began in 2002 to preserve the historic windpump.
Sources and records
Wikipedia article: Blackshore Mill, Reydon
Historic England educational image: Blackshore Windpump, Reydon
Windmill World entry: Reydon windmill
Commons category: Blackshore Mill
Local history article: Southwold and Reydon Quay
Historic England educational image: Blackshore Windpump, Reydon
Windmill World entry: Reydon windmill
Commons category: Blackshore Mill
Local history article: Southwold and Reydon Quay