| Fryerning Mill | |
| Name Of Mill: | Mill Green Mill |
| Gbgridref: | TL 640 008 |
| Coordinates: | 51.681°N 0.371°W |
| Operator: | Private |
| Built: | 1759 |
| Purpose: | Corn mill |
| Type: | Post mill |
| Roundhouse Storeys: | Single storey roundhouse |
| Sail Number: | Four sails |
| Sail Type: | Two Spring Patent sails and two Spring sails |
| Windshaft: | Cast iron |
| Winding: | Tailpole |
| Pairs Of Millstones: | Two pairs |
| Stone Size: | Head stones 4feet, tail stones 4feet |
| Other: | Rebuilt 1959 |
Fryerning Mill (or Mill Green Mill) is a grade II* listed post mill at Mill Green, Fryerning, Essex, which has been restored.
Mill Green Mill was built in 1759, replacing an earlier mill which stood some 80yd to the east during the period 1564–1731. The mill was built by Robert Barker, a millwright from Chelmsford. A roundhouse was included from the start.[1] The mill was owned by the Petre estate and records of expenditure on the mill are in the Essex Record Office.[2]
In July or August 1774, a farmer was killed by being struck by the sails of the mill. New sails were fitted in 1802 and 1806, and a new stock in 1821. An accident at the mill resulted in the miller sustaining a fractured thigh in 1852, and the owner of the mill being reported to have been carried round on the sails for ten or twelve revolutions before he was rescued. The roof of the mill was repaired in 1878 and the mill re-tarred. A new sail was fitted in 1884 and a new pair of sails in 1902. The mill was working until at least 1905.[2]
Some repairs were done to the body of the mill in the 1930s. The mill was restored in 1959 by R.F. Collinson, who had bought the mill house and discovered the mill in the garden. This entailed the complete replacement of the frame of the mill, including the crowntree. On 2 January 1976, the sails ran away in a gale and the brake wheel disintegrated.[2] A new brake wheel was constructed in 1989.
Mill Green Mill is a post mill with a single-storey roundhouse. The mill is winded by a tailpole. It has two spring sails and two spring patents. There are two pairs of millstones arranged head and tail.[2]
The trestle is of oak, with the main post thought to be of sweet chestnut. The crosstrees are 242NaN2 long, 120NaN0 square at the ends, thickening to 150NaN0 by 130NaN0 at the centre. The underside of the lower crosstree is 3feet above ground level. The main post is nearly 232NaN2 in length, 250NaN0 square at its base and 220NaN0 diameter at the top. The quarterbars are 120NaN0 by 100NaN0 in section. The roundhouse is of brick, with a boarded roof covered in tarred felt.[1]
The body of the mill measures 152NaN2 by 112NaN2 in plan. The crowntree is 230NaN0 by 210NaN0 in section. It has a cast-iron plate bolted to its underside, with a pintle projecting downwards that fits into a cast-iron pot on the top of the main post, a reversal of the normal fitting. The side girts are 100NaN0 by 19inches in section.[1]
As originally built, the mill would have had a wooden windshaft and four common sails. The windshaft is of cast iron, probably replacing a former wooden one. It is 182NaN2 long and carries the head and tail wheels. The mill has two spring sails and two spring patents. The sails have a span of 582NaN2.[1]
The head wheel is of clasp arm construction, it is 92NaN2 diameter. It has an iron segment ring bolted on which has a total of 120 teeth. It drive a cast-iron stone nut, with 20 cogs. Originally, the head wheel had 69 cogs, of 4½ in (114 mm) pitch. The tail wheel is also of clasp arm construction, 72NaN2 diameter. It has an iron segment ring bolted on which has a total of one hundred teeth. It drives a cast-iron stone nut, with fifteen cogs. Both wheels were made from elm. The headstones are 4feet diameter and the tailstones are 42NaN2 diameter.[1]
Millers who worked this mill were:[2]