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Mills

L

loisand

master brummie
Can I post requests for information on the Birmingham webring for information outside of the city, but it is still in the county of Warwickshire. I have been on the British Genolgy site, but in all honesty this site is much more helpful, and so friendly.
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Okey dokey, this is one question. I have just found on one of the web pages reference to a windmill in Nether Whitacre, the person that wrote the piece assumes that because "the mound" was called Windmill Hill a windmill was once there. I have got a copy of a map dated 1872 and Windmill Hill is situated between Nether Whitacre and Halloughton Hall, again on a copy of a map 1831-34. On a copy of a map dated 1822 it does not show. Can you shed light on it for me, thanks in advance. I was baught up round there, and in all honesty nothing was ever mentioned about a windmill at school.
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Loisand Here is a photo of the Windmill Hump which was at Windmill farm photo was taken in 1911
now its the Ravenswood Hill housing estate
Mill was a horse drawn "gin" millÂÂ
It was right on the back of Park Cottage 1900 which was on thr Birmingham Road (then called Park Rd)
Its on a John Snape map 1783
Photo lost
 
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Now I think you have gone down Dog Lane that is the way I go to the Dog Pub
From the Railway carry straight on past Dog Lane and you will come to a small turning on your left to the Lagoes , well Windmill Hill is opposite their and on the Net their is an Estate agents if ya pump in Ravenswood Hill housing estate, but ya got me curious now so I will have a look tomorrow
 
Loisand The so called housing estate is about 100 yds just past the Swan Pub on the right hand side of the road about 20-30 red brick houses which were built about 15-20 years ago are just of the road the Windmill was behind these. Nothing their now
 
Thanks Cromwell, I knew about those houses. There used to be a garage there and the people sold it and the land and those houses were built. The person that sold the garage used to have one of those houses, he then sold up and went to live in the Isle of Man. I didn't realise they called a row of houses a housing estate, you learn something new every day. Hope you and Postie enjoyed your drink, you had a nice day for it. Once again thanks for looking.
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Hi Cromwell, I'm beginning to answer my own question now, from the National Archieves of Halloughton Grange, I now know that there was "Accounts and Correspondance about a watermill and waterwheel", creation date of this was 1854-1855. So abit more research may hopefully produce the windmill as well. Once again thanks for the help.
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Loisand AHHH but this mill you are talking about did not use water !
 
yeah I know that, got to do some more digging around, will get there eventually, well I hope I will.
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Clearing up on the two mills previosly mentioned (not the windmill, that's still pending), according to the National Archieves on the Adderley family this is what it says:

"1847 copy of release. Rt, Hon. Henry Lawes Luttrell, Earl of Carhampton, John Messenger of Over Whitacre,co. War., miller, Thomas Messenger of same, paper maker, and John Dale the younger of Coleshill, co. War., mercer. Two mills and lands in Nether Whitacre, co. War.

Creation date: 29th September 1799"

Slowley getting there.
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I used to ride my bicycle through that little place in the evenings. Made a nice round trip through Coleshill down around and back to Saltley. As soon as I read the name it rang a bell. I G.E.d it but it is just off the higher resolution section and not much can be learned except that the highest terrain there is where Cromwell said at the junction of Lagoes and the Coventry Road. Not much help but a windmill would be placed in a high position possibly.
I wonder if the building in the picture was originally a windmill but was cut down and the drive revised. Sides seem to taper in for some reason and windmill constructions have to do that.
Regards
 
Hiya Rupert, you honestly rode all that way from Saltley, I did it last year, not as far, and bearing in mind I hadn't rode a bike for nearly 30 years, I nearly killed myself, traffic was awful, they come so close to the pavements, I swear never again I will stick to walking I'm safer that way!!!!!
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It was built as a Horse gin mill not a Windmill Rupert
The name given to the machines that turned the horse walking into a rotary motion was 'horse gin' which is a corruption of 'horse engine'.
It uasualy has a large stone base with iron gears inside the vertical cylinder. This type is known as 'Safety Gear', as all the gearing is contained within the centre casing. This gin was probably made by the Black Country Ironworks, sometime after 1800 The horse was harnessed to a wooden shaft that was fastened to the large turntable. As the horse walked round the gin, a gear on the large turntable turned as small pinion on the output shaft. A long shaft with flexible coupling (like a prop shaft on a car) ran outside the path that the horse walked. On the end of the shaft is a belt pulley that could drive any machine that the horse was strong enough to power.
 
Hi Cromwell, have you looked closely at the pictures that Brummie Nick (of Nether whitacre now lost) told the site about:

Whitacre Nurseries 1930-1939, in the back of the picture there is a WIND PUMP for the water supply, would you believe it, me wonders how many more of those wind pumps were around Nether Whitacre, its getting intriguing.

Station Street is now called Station Road, and the row of houses in some of those photos haven't changed, just been modernised.

The Chapel is now the Methodist Chapel and that is where I first got married in 1976, did all my Sunday School there.
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Hi Brummie Nick, Heath House is one of the pictures on the site that you told us about, it's along what we know now as the Birmingham Road, just down from the Swan pub, I've been trying to fathom out for quite a few months now where the Common, Nether Whitacre is, I can only assume that Common Lane ran either through the middle of it or down to it, thinking as I am typing it could be the road over the railway bridge up from the Swan. Will percevere on that one. I have got an article called "Memories of my native Warwickshire Village" written by the late Norman Somerfield 1992 on Elenora Summerfield nee Partlett (born 1880) if you interested send me a personel pm with your e-mail and I will e-mail it to you. Good reading.
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Just seen this thread. Loisand, do you know anything about the Silk family from Nether. One of my wife's ancestors. Charles Silk ran the Railway Inn there in the 1870s?
 
Hiya Michael, I have a list of the Silk's that are buried at St Giles, Nether Whitacre:

Ada Emily Silk
Ann Silk
Arthur Silk
Caroline Silk
Catherine Silk
Catherine F. Silk
Charlotte Silk
Edward Silk
Edwin Silk
Elizabeth Silk
James Silk
John Silk
Katherine Francis Silk
Kathleen Sarah Silk
Mary Silk
Mary Ann Silk (infant)
Robert Silk
Sarah Silk
Thomas Silk
 
Hi Brummie Nick, fathomed out Common Lane, took from "A Dip in the Past", 1998:

"Middle Lane, for some reason is called Gate Lane. Middle Lane goes from The Gate Inn to Deep Lane, where it then becomes Common Lane"

If you know the area, they are referring to the road over the bridge from the Swan pub.
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Hi Michael, I have a plan of land that was once owned by Whitacre Station dated 1852, and your Mr Silk's name is on it, where the Railway Inn/Hotel is. When hubby comes home from work I will get him to post it on site for you, if not today it will be Tuesday, hope thats O.K.
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Hi Michael, if you look on the site that brummie nick suggested you will see a picture of the Railway Inn, when this picture was taken it was a hotel. It is "paynes series, 178 station Road, done 1910-1919", would you believe me if I say that except for modernisation the building is still very much how it looks in that photo.
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Michael, cant find Charles Silk, but this Silk family are on the 1851 census.


Head: SILK, Thomas Neighbors 290999
Name Relationship Mar Age Sex Occupation Birthplace
Thomas SILK Head M 38 M Lic Vitter Nether Whitacre-War
Elizabeth SILK Wife M 33 F --- Nether Whitacre-War
Sarah SILK Daur - 9 F Scholar Nether Whitacre-War
Arthur SILK Son - 7 M Scholar Nether Whitacre-War
Edward SILK Son - 4 M Scholar Nether Whitacre-War
Thos. SILK Son - 3 M Scholar Nether Whitacre-War
Mary SILK Daur - 1 F At Home Nether Whitacre-War
Thomas WILTON Lodg M 49 M Butcher Castle Bromwich-War
Caroline GREEN Vist U 21 F Governess Nether Whitacre-War
Henry DIXON Serv U 11 M Hostler Shustoke-War
Address: Railway, Meriden
Census Place: Nether Whitacre Meriden, Warwickshire
PRO Reference: HO/107/2063 Folio: 24 Page: 13 FHL Film: 0087322
 
I have found some information that would indicate that the mill on Windmill Hill N.W. was originally a post windmill. Which as far as I can tell is similar to the included photograph which is borrowed from Windmill World. The base looks similar to the picture. Sites :https://www.windmillworld.com/


132 Lea Marston
160 48 Nether Whitacre Windmill Hill (¼m. NNW of church), on tump. Medieval (or later). P SP230932
173 Over Whitacre

Taken from the Helmingford Hundred.
 
Rupert, I suppose you are right as it would have been like that in the 16th-17th century but for some reason we gave up on them in the 19th century and with the industrial revolution they became obsolete
Now we are restoring a lot of them
 
You can blame Rupert for this post :2funny: he mentioned Lea Marston, so keeping on the theme of mills, on a poor copy of a map dated 1822 there is mentioned 2 Paddys Mills, one being in the Lea Marston area, the other being between Hams Hall and Blyth Hall any info would be graciously accepted. The other mill I'm trying to find info on, again on the map 1822, along the River Bourne is a mill called New Mill, this is situated between Nether Whitacre and Shustoke, again all info graciously received. :flower: :cat:
 
Slowley getting there, here is one part of the latest information that I have found out, after many hours of trawling through archieves, which as yet I am not even a third through, still winter is coming:
From the Adderley Family of Hams Hall:
Nether Whitacre,
1847 copy of release to the Rt. Ho. Henry Lawes Luttrell, Earl of Carhampton, John Messenger of Over Whitacre, miller, Thomas Messenger of same, paper maker and John Dale the younger of Coleshill, mercer. Two mills and lands in Nether Whitacre.
Creation date: 29 Sept. 1799

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I've found this John Messenger on the 1851 census.



Head: BARKER, Sarah Neighbors 291285
Name Relationship Mar Age Sex Occupation Birthplace
Sarah BARKER Head W 26 F Miller Baker Coleshill-War
Lucy H. BARKER Daur - 2 F --- Coleshill-War
John MESSENGER Fath W 55 M Miller Over Whitacre-War
Thomas MESSENGER Bro U 29 M Baker Coleshill-War
Charles MESSENGER Bro U 19 M Baker Coleshill-War
Ann MESSENGER Sis - 17 F Schl Coleshill-War
Address: ---, Meriden
Census Place: Coleshill Meriden, Warwickshire
PRO Reference: HO/107/2063 Folio: 80 Page: 1 FHL Film: 0087322
 
Some pages back loisand posted some information about the Silk family from Nether, including 1851 census information. Mary Ann Silk was aged 1 on that census. The family moved to Catheart Street in Aston and Mary Ann married Joseph Green in 1870 in St Matthews church. Joseph became a soldier in the South Wales Borderers and subsequently moved to Brecon in Wales. Mary Ann died in Brecon in 1934. Here is a photograph of here, seated, shortly before she died.
The family group is the Silks taken in Birmingham (I have not been able to identify individuals.
The last photgraph is of Joseph Green (born in Aston 1840); the photgraph is in the South Wales Borderers Museum in Brecon. Ironically, my wife was born in Brecon and her great grandfather, Joseph was born about 20 minutes walk from where I was born in Birmingham
Photos lost
 
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After digesting the Huminex of 1891, one of the "Paddy's Mills" that I was querying could be named or be something to do with a row of 5 houses called "Paddy's Row" which is of the Birmingham Road coming under Lea Marston. Right at this moment that is the only connection that I have found, but I expect a trip into the central library may unearth something.
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