Wandsworth Common Windmill

Wandsworth Common Windmill is a conserved grade II listed^[1] smock mill at Wandsworth Common, in the London Borough of Wandsworth in the United Kingdom.

Wandsworth Common Windmill
The mill in 2010
Origin
Mill name	Wandsworth Common Mill
Grid reference	TQ 26805 74465
Coordinates	51°27′18″N 0°10′35″W
Year built	1837
Information
Purpose	Drainage mill
Type	Smock mill
Storeys	Three-storey smock
Base storeys	Low base of less than one storey
Smock sides	Six sides
No. of sails	Four sails
Type of sails	Patent sails
Winding	Fantail

History

Wandsworth Common Windmill was built in 1837 to drain water from the railway cutting of the London and Southampton Railway. The water was pumped into an ornamental lake on Wandsworth Common known as the Black Sea, which had been dug by Mr Wilson, the founder of Price's Candle Works. The mill was working c1870,^[2] but the Black Sea was drained and filled in around 1884.^[1] The mill then lost its purpose and ceased work, with the sails and fantail being removed.^[2]

Description

For an explanation of the various pieces of machinery, see Mill machinery.

Wandsworth Common Windmill is a small hexagonal smock mill built on a low brick base. It had a small cap and was powered by four Patent sails. The cap was winded by a fantail. The smock stands today, with a reconstructed cap, replacing the pyramidal roof it bore in the 1960s.^[2]