High Salvington Windmill, High Salvington

A wind-powered corn mill in the historic county of Sussex, England.

This mill is a Heritage Partner. These organisations support our cause and share in our success. In return they receive a range of benefits, including publicity such as our featured mill pages. Find out more about the scheme...

The tarred post mill at High Salvington, once known as Durrington Mill, stands 320ft (98m) above sea level, adjacent to Mill Lane, an old roadway into Worthing, and commands a fine view south over Worthing and the sea.

High Salvington Mill has a long history, probably being built about 1750, although the first map showing a mill on this site was printed in 1724. The historical record indicates that a previous mill existed on this site in 1615.

The present mill worked for nearly 150 years until it was closed in 1897. In 1907/8 the old timber roundhouse was replaced with an octagonal concrete structure with large windows that was used as a tea room well into the 1950s.

Worthing Borough Council purchased the mill for £2,250 in 1959. Edwin Hole & Son, millwrights, of Burgess Hill, undertook restoration work in the early 1960s, replacing a lot of the heavy timberwork in the main body of the mill.

As a result of damage sustained during a gale in 1976, an inspection was carried out and revealed that the state of the mill was far from well. The High Salvington Mill Trust was inaugurated and a decision taken to completely restore the mill.

The hurricane of 1987 gave the mill its first taste of renewed life. The great wind turned the single pair of sails for the first time, although the brake was on!

The original style of circular roundhouse, visible in several old photographs and postcards, was reinstated in 1990, and the mill began grinding again on 4th April 1991.

Inside the mill are two pairs of millstones set in a head-and-tail arrangement, driven by an enormous renewed brake wheel and the original tail wheel. The windshaft is of wood, with a cast-iron poll end, and carries two spring-shuttered sails and two canvas-spread common sails.

The mill is cared for by The High Salvington Mill Trust Ltd.

Website

Full details

Alternative names	Durrington Mill
Power source	Wind
Mill type	Post mill
Mill function	Corn mill
Archive ID	2581
Location	High Salvington
Historic county	Sussex
Country	England, United Kingdom
NGR	TQ 123 067
Latitude/longitude	50.84861600, -0.40652100