The Union Mill

Union Mill was built in 1814 by Cranbrook millwright James Humphrey for Mary Dobell and was initially worked by her son Henry. Mrs Dobell was declared bankrupt in 1819 and the mill was taken over by a union of her creditors, and thus gained its name. The mill was sold to John and George Russell in 1832, remaining in the Russell family for five generations until it was purchased by Kent County Council in 1957 after the retirement of the last miller. Restoration commenced on 18 June 1958 and was completed in 1960, costing a total of £6,000. Rex Wailes presided over the official reopening of the mill.

The mill is seven storeys tall, with a three-storey smock on a four-storey brick base, which consist of basement, ground, first and second floors. It cost £3,500 to build in 1814. The overall height to the cap roof is 72 ft. the Lewes millwright, fitted a cast-iron windshaft, and patent sails, the Hawkhurst millwright fitted a fantail a few years later, giving the mill its current appearance. A 10 hp steam powered beam engine by Middleton of Southwark, Surrey, was added in 1863, along with an extra pair of millstones from a steam mill in Smarden. The beam engine was replaced in 1890 by a rotary steam engine made by Clarke's of Ashford. This was unsatisfactory and was replaced with a Fowler…