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Listed derelict tower survives
The Grade II listed tower survives in derelict condition with some machinery retained.
Site overview
Stansfield Mill is a Grade II listed former tower corn mill at Stansfield, Suffolk. It was built in 1840, replacing an earlier post mill. The builder was probably William Bear of Sudbury.
The five-storey tower had four patent sails, a dome-shaped cap, a fantail, and two pairs of millstones. The date at which the mill ceased work has not been established, but the cap was removed in 1922. The mill later became derelict.
It survives as a tower mill with some machinery, including wooden gearing, preserving the shell and part of the working equipment of the nineteenth-century 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
Stansfield Mill was built in 1840 on the site of an earlier post mill. It was a five-storey tower mill used for corn milling and was probably built by William Bear of Sudbury. The windmill had a dome-shaped cap winded by a fantail and four patent sails.
Its internal machinery was wooden and included a clasp-arm great spur wheel. The mill drove two pairs of millstones. The precise date when wind-powered milling ended has not been established.
In 1922 the cap was removed, and the mill subsequently became derelict. The surviving building is Grade II listed. Although it no longer retains its complete windmill form, the tower remains standing and some machinery survives, giving the site continued value as a physical survival of a nineteenth-century Suffolk tower mill.
Timeline
1840
Stansfield Mill built
Stansfield Mill was built in 1840, replacing an earlier post mill.
1922
Cap removed
The cap was removed in 1922, after which the mill became derelict.
Sources and records
Wikipedia article: Stansfield Windmill
Windmill World entry: Stansfield windmill
Suffolk Mills Group index of Suffolk windmills
Wikimedia Commons record: Stansfield Mill photograph
Flickr photographic record: Stansfield Mill
Windmill World entry: Stansfield windmill
Suffolk Mills Group index of Suffolk windmills
Wikimedia Commons record: Stansfield Mill photograph
Flickr photographic record: Stansfield Mill