Hogg Hill Mill Explained

Hogg Hill Mill, Icklesham
Gbgridref:TQ 888 160
Built:1781
Purpose:Corn mill
Type:Post mill
Roundhouse Storeys:Two storey roundhouse
Sail Number:Four
Sail Type:Spring sails
Windshaft:Cast iron
Winding:Roof mounted fantail
Fantail Blades:Eight blades
Pairs Of Millstones:Two pairs, arranged Head and Tail
Other:The only existing post mill in the United Kingdom retaining a roof mounted fantail.

Hogg Hill Mill is a post mill at Icklesham in East Sussex, England. It houses the private recording studio of Paul McCartney.

History

Hogg Hill Mill was built in Pett in 1781 and moved to Icklesham in 1790. It was working by wind until 1920, when it was stopped, owing to a weak weatherbeam.[1] The mill was also used as a filming location for the 1951 British crime drama film The Quiet Woman, directed by John Gilling. Today, the mill houses the recording studios of Paul McCartney.[2]

Description

Hogg Hill Mill is a post mill on a two-storey roundhouse. It has four spring sails carried on a cast iron windshaft and is winded by a roof-mounted fantail. It is one of only two surviving post mills in England with this feature, and the only one where this can still be seen.[3] The mill drove two pairs of millstones, arranged head and tail. The brake wheel has been removed, but the wooden tail wheel is of clasp arm construction.[1]

Millers

Recording studio

The English musician Paul McCartney, bought the nearby Blossom Wood Farm in Peasmarsh in 1973 in hopes of raising his children away from the limelight. He bought Hog Hill Mill in Icklesham in 1981.[4]

After the recording studio expenses of recording his albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace, McCartney felt he could have built his own studio for the same amount.[5] He converted the windmill on the property into a private recording studio, Hog Hill Mill, completed in 1985.[6]

External links

Further reading

Book: Hemming, Peter. 1936. Windmills in Sussex. C W Daniel. London. Online version

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brunnarius, Martin. 1979. The Windmills of Sussex. 47–48, 189. Philimore. Chichester. 0-85033-345-8.
  2. Web site: 17th August 2005 - Icklesham (Hogg Hill) Windmill. Roughwood. 2008-05-08.
  3. The other mill is at Ramsey, Essex, which has not carried its fantail since 1939.
  4. Web site: Fox. Thomas. Sir Paul McCartney's Sussex 'windmill' studio where The Beatles worked on their final song. MSN.com. 11 March 2023. 10 July 2024.
  5. White. Timothy. McCartney Gets Hungry Again. Musician. February 1988. 10 July 2024.
  6. Web site: Completion of Hog Hill Mill home studio. The Paul McCartney Project. 8 January 2024. 10 July 2024.