Old Windmill, Mitcham Common.
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| Partial / Incomplete Date | c.1895 |
|---|---|
| Area | Mitcham |
| Picture Reference | Mit_Work_Industry_36-3 |
| Original Format | Photo |
| Notes / History | This structure was a 'hollow post mill'. Built on a circular brick base, the upper timber and weatherboarded section was conical and could be rotated on a central shaft, in order to direct the sails into the wind. As the sails turned, they moved a driving shaft, so powering two pairs of gaint millstones, which were used to grind grain into flour. From 1861, the mill house was home to Joseph Watson, a yeast manufacturer from Southwark. Watson extended the property forming a two storey Victorian Villa. His descendants occupied the property until 1936. Sold to the London Female Preventitive and Reformatory Institute became the Holt Yates Memorial Home for Girls. From 1940 the mill house beame, the girls having been evacuated, part of the Tower Creameries. The local authority took ownership in 1950 for various uses for the Commons Conservators. During the 1990s the mill house was surplus to requirements. Refurnbished in 1994 it became a restaurant. Only the base of the mill remains. It now includes the Mill House Ecology Centre. |
