Mierscourt Horse Wheel, Rainham

A animal-powered pumping mill/wheel in the historic county of Kent, England.

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On the opposite side of the road from the farmhouse a rope-winding horse wheel still stands over its well head. A small thatched roof protects the winding drum and well head from the weather. The machine consists of a timber drum l.lm (3ft 6in) diameter on which the bucket rope is wound. This drum is at the top of the upright shaft and at the lower end of the shaft the horse arm is mounted. This has an effective radius of 2.28m (7ft 6in). At the outer end there is a stake to stop the arm running backwards when the full bucket was at the top. This wheel carries the refinement of both a brake and a clutch. The arm has an iron claw which, when the arm moved in the right direction, engaged with a claw on a strap on the shaft. When the arm dropped a lever which is socketed around the shaft lifted a plate against the underside of the winding drum to act as a brake.

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References

• Major, J. K. Animal-Powered Engines (B.T. Batsford Ltd London, 1978)

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