Ripple Smock Mill - Dover Road, Ripple, Kent, CT14 8HD.
Posted by: MeerRescue
N 51° 11.508 E 001° 22.720
31U E 386704 N 5672403
Ripple Smock Mill, built c.1815, now fully restored, but a private residence, along the Dover Road, Ripple, Kent, CT14 8HD.
Waymark Code: WMEPGG
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/23/2012
Views: 1
Ripple's Smock Mill - The given co-ords are for the Mill,
but it is a private residence, and as such, should be respected.
The are nice views of the Mill from surrounding road, but our
favourite viewing spot is at N51 11.332, E001 22.580, after a short stroll along a footpath starting in Church
Lane, Ringwould.
Although evidence shows a windmill has been on this site since 1695, the present
Ripple Mill was built around 1815. Unusual for Kent, Ripple
Smock Mill has it's lower brick storey set within an earth mound, once
serving as a reefing stage. As with many costal windmills, Ripple Mill
was used by seaman as navigation markers, in this case those
navigating the English Channel would keep Kingsdown Church inline with
Ripple Mill to ensure they past the southern point of the treacherous
Goodwin Sands. So important was it as a navigation marker, in 1895
Trinity House contributed a substantial amount towards the repairs
needed to the mill at that time. There is still much speculation that
this smock mill was moved from Drellingore near Folkestone, and there
is certainly a surviving cant post that had been sawn lengthways, and
now bolted together. However, no documentation has yet been found to
corroborate either the existence of a windmill at Drellingore, or a
move of it to this location.
c.1955
c.1986
Ripple Mill was known to be working during WW2, but by 1947 that had
obviously changed. Records show that in that year the Society for
Protection of Ancient Buildings decided not to issue an appeal to
restore the mill due to " lack of local support". It appears to have lay redundant
until it was purchased by
Rediffusion Ltd
in 1955, but this only saw all the mills internal machinery being
removed, along the cap, whilst the smock became festooned with aerials
and used as a TV repeater station until 1976. The present owner
purchased, in all reality, a large storage shed, but with almost 2
decades of tremendously hard work and dedication, Ripple Smock Mill is
back to working order, albeit in private hands.