Matching Mill

Matching Mill is a 19th-century roundhouse of a post mill that was converted into a smithy around 1882. The walls are made of soft red bricks laid in Flemish bond, with a thickness of 0.33 metres up to a height of 0.80 metres and 0.23 metres up to 2.50 metres. It features an octagonal pyramidal roof covered with handmade red clay tiles, ending in an octagonal louvre. There are two original windows with segmental arches on the northeast and southwest sides, and two original doors on the southeast, with a segmental arch above, and a northwest door that is 1 metre wide, divided into upper and lower halves, although the brick arch above it is missing. Inside, there is a forge in the center with intact bellows.

Historical records indicate that in 1843, the site was described as a 'Windmill, cottage and garden', owned and occupied by Charles Martin. The 6-inch Ordnance Survey map from 1881 refers to it as 'Matching Mill (Corn)', while the revised edition from 1895 identifies the roundhouse as a 'Smithy'. Charles Martin was noted as a farmer and miller in White's Directory of 1848, and George Bennett, a corn miller, was listed in Kelly's Directories from 1859 to 1878. By 1882, no miller was recorded, suggesting that the windmill was still operational until 1881 but was converted to a smithy shortly thereafter. The roundhouse was not designed to support the cross trees of a late post mill, indicating it was built for storage around the existing sub-structure of the post mill, with thicker walls at the base to withstand the pressure of sacks. The missing arch of the larger door, which did not carry substantial weight, shows how the main post was lowered without disturbing the walls.