Watts Cross Windmill
See also:
Leigh’s Three Windmills 1820s-1960s
The above image is of the windmill that stood at the top of Ring’s Hill – on the corner of Mill Lane. The picture is probably dated from the turn of the last century – definitely before World War 1 as the ladies in the picture are still in long dresses. Today, the scene is different, although the brick base of the windmill still remains on private property and sometimes the base can still be seen from the road. Mill Garage at Mill Lane is situated to the left of it as we look at it here and the road where the two ladies are runs down to Hildenborough station.
It was a corn mill when built in 1812. It was built by John London who commissioned Budgen, a builder at Speldhurst to built it on a high piece of ground at Watts Cross owned by the London family. It was a well-chosen site because, not only was it much higher than the surrounding country side, but it was also adjacent to the point at which the Cowden – Penshurst – Leigh Turnpike joined the Sevenoaks – Tonbridge Turnpike. There was therefore access on good roads from three directions which must have been a great improvement on the inaccessibility of the Ramhurst Mill site which the London family also owned. John died in 1816 and did not long survive the construction of the new windmill, but it would remain in the ownership of the London family at least until 1839. The windmill was last worked in 1910.
It was of the ‘Smock’ variety (because the weatherboarded element of the windmill above the base resembles a smock) and had four ‘sweeps’ – only in Kent and Sussex are windmill sails known as sweeps. During World War 2 the windmill was used as an observation post by the Home Guard and it was still regarded as being in a pretty decent state when KCC did a site review in 1949. By 1951, however, it had started to deteriorate due to water penetration although at this point, KCC thought it could be saved and considered a preservation order. However, following a lightning strike the windmill was dismantled in September 1961. There was little interest at the time from anyone calling for it to be restored and Hildenborough lost an iconic landmark forever.
Joyce Field (Nov 2022)