1744
Mill owned by Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne owned a house and mill at the Belle Vue Fields site by 1744.
Site overview
West Mill was a black post mill in Belle Vue Fields, now Regency Square, Brighton. Matthew Bourne owned a house and mill there by 1744. The mill supplied flour for John Brown's bakery from 1770 and later passed to John Streeter.
In 1797 the mill was moved from the cliff-edge site to Dyke Road, watched by a large crowd and drawn by oxen. After removal, the original Regency Square site ceased to be a working mill location.
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
West Mill stood in Belle Vue Fields, now Regency Square, Brighton. It was a black post mill and one of the prominent windmills of eighteenth-century Brighthelmstone. Matthew Bourne owned a house and mill there by 1744, and the mill appeared in views of the town during the later eighteenth century.
From 1770 John Brown used West Mill to supply flour for his bakery in West Street. The mill was offered for sale in 1785 as a freehold mill with about a rood of land. After Brown died in 1792, John Streeter of North Street took over the mill and insured it against fire.
As the surrounding district developed, the mill became unsuitable for its cliff-edge setting among new residences. On 28 March 1797 it was moved about two miles to Dyke Road with the help of teams of oxen. The removed mill became associated with its later Preston or Streeter's Mill site.
Timeline
1770
Bakery flour supply
John Brown used West Mill to supply flour for his West Street bakery.
1785
Mill offered for sale
West Mill was offered for sale as a freehold post mill with about a rood of land.
1797
Moved from Regency Square
The post mill was moved from Belle Vue Fields to a new Dyke Road site.
Sources and records
Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society paper: Brighton Windmills
Sussex Mills Group windmill gazetteer
Regency Square local history article
List of windmills in East Sussex
Sussex Mills Group windmill gazetteer
Regency Square local history article
List of windmills in East Sussex