Four Winds Windmill

This is a tower mill, likely dating to the early to mid-19th century, possibly built in 1858, replacing an earlier mill shown on the site as early as 1769. The mill, now used for storage, is situated on a high ridge, slightly set back from Penshurst Road. It is constructed of cement-rendered brick, with a 20th-century flat roof, the cowl and sweeps now missing. The structure is four stories and tapers to a cylindrical shape, with a late 19th/early 20th century porch on the east side and a doorway on the west. Most of the internal carpentry and some of the machinery appear to be from the late 19th century. The interior retains wooden floors and wooden steps to each floor, with posts to the ground floor. The first or “meal” floor retains much of the original machinery, including the great spur wheel of cast iron with wooden cogs, various gearing wheels, and a bevelled wooden cogged ring used to connect a steam engine when wind power was unavailable. A horizontal shaft with a bevel pinion gear and two iron pulleys, one inside and one outside the mill tower, facilitated the connection to the steam engine and a milling or crushing machine. Two wooden machines remain attached to the first-floor wall: a smaller wheat cleaner and a larger flour dresser, a relatively rare survival due to their banning and subsequent removal during the First World War. The second floor retains some tentering gear and centrifugal governors. Sack hoist doors remain throughout, with a wooden shield on the meal floor to prevent them from swinging into the machinery. The mill ceased operation at the end of the 19th century, following storm damage, and in 1942 the cap and its contents were destroyed in another storm. A photograph from the 19th century, depicting the mill with its original sweeps and cap, is featured in "The Windmills of Kent". This tower mill type is less common in Kent, and its survival to full height, along with the retained floors, steps, and some machinery, is notable.