Windmills of my mind

 Gilbert's Mill on Farm 1875. In 1905 Medway Hospital was built on the site.
The road next to it is still called Windmill Road.

Wednesday, August 12, 1846

On Saturday afternoon, a frightful accident occured to a woman named Elizabeth Cole, the wife of a labourer employed in Chatham Dockyard. This poor woman resided with her family on Chatham Hill, and she had been out for the last few days gleaning in the corn fields around her immediate neighbourhood, and having cleaned the wheat she took it on the day in question to Mr Gilbert's Mill to be ground. The woman then went for the purpose of desiring the miller to withdraw the bran from the flour, and instead of taking the path leading up to the mill. She walked crossways on the higher ground, and just as she came up, the mill being at work, one of the swifts struck her on the neck, and she fell to the ground. She bled profusely and died almost instantly. Her left jaw was dislocated, and nearly every one of her teeth were knocked out. She was 46 years old and left 10 children.

From the Morning Post.

Star Mill. View from Darland Banks.

The last working windmill in the neighbourhood of Luton was the Star Mill (Darland Mill, Upper Chatham Mill or Austin's Mill). It was a wooden smock mill on a single story brick base and was situated at the top of the Darland Banks at the end of Star Mill Lane. It was owned by the War Department but was sold to the Brompton, Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester Waterworks Company when they bought the land to build their reservoirs. The last millers, Messrs R. and F. Pain, continued grinding corn until, rotten and unsafe with only two of its sails still in place, the mill had to be knocked down in 1925.

From  'The Windmills of Luton'

Delce Mill, Glovers Mill.

“Delce Mill was owned by a Mr Glover, who lived in Mill House in Burritt Street opposite the mill and was similar to, but smaller than, the mill house on New Road at the top of Star Hill  (See below) which became the Good Companions Club. The mill was built by the Dutch and worked until the outbreak of the Second World War, two new sails having been fitted in the 1930s.

Friday's Mill, sometimes known as Stedman's Mill, stood at the top of Star Hill, near St. Catherines Almshouses. 

Field's Mill, which together with Killick's Mill, formed a pair of windmills that stood on Broom Hill overlooking Strood. It burnt down in 1875.

Upchurch windmill postcard

Wakeley's Mill, Horsham Lane Upchurch. Built 1819. A Kentish Tower Mill destroyed totally by fire 1910.

Then and now of windmill in Ordnance St, Chatham.

Uncle Herbies Steam Roller Accident. Star Hill. Rochester. Kent.

Many thanks to Sentinel S4 for sharing this story about his Great Great Uncle Herbert. Sentinel S4 first posted this story by Sentinel's dad  on the Kent History Forum.

Herbie was, to the best of my knowledge, my Grandfather's younger brother. I believe he lived in Gillingham.  Every so often he would visit me and my mother.   
He was of medium height, tending to be fat. Had a shock of white hair. He had a heavy white moustache on a roundish face and blue, friendly eyes. Herbie was always kind to me.   

I remember him well but as the older I become the visits became less regular and stopped towards the end of the war, by which time I was, quite a mature kid.
Herbie had lead a charmed life. He had never married but was, obviously (looking back at him) a ‘ladies man’.

He worked at Aveling & Porter's as a steam fitter. He also moved around a lot working on such things as the construction of the Welsh Dams and Pembroke Dock. But he was ‘in and out’ of Avelings for most of his working life. He worked for their long-term lease department.   
Then many County councils only hired their Steam Rollers (Kent County council actually owned their 30 plus rollers).   

Uncle Herbie delivered many new rollers to their new owners (anywhere in the country) And brought back those that were to be refurbished and then sold on.   
He thought nothing of driving a roller to, say Cornwall and bring a well-worn one all the way back to Aveling & Porter's factory.

The former Victorian steam roller company, Aveling and Porter, and later Wingets' Factory building, Strood.

On one such trip Uncle Herbie had a roller run away from him on Star Hill, Rochester.  He was bringing it back from Brighton – Years later my dad told me that its brakes were "clapped out", and "the valve-gear was sloppy and rattling". Plus the steering had about a turn and a half slack both ways.
   
The steam roller was skidding and slewing on the tram lines and to make matters worse, it was also towing Uncle Herbie's living van. 
Unfortunately at the time two trams were travelling up and down Star Hill and were closing on each other. The driver of the ‘up’ tram could see what the driver of the ‘down’ tram could not – a run away steam roller coming down the hill more or less sideways and travelling about 20 mph. 

The driver of the ‘up’ tram stopped and no doubt started to pray. Uncle Herbie's roller passed  the ‘down’ tram without some how hitting it. The roller passed through the ever-narrowing gap between the two trams, but the living van side-swiped the ‘up’ car which rocked violently and almost went over on its left side. It recovered, but Herbie’s living van had taken most of the waist panels off the trams right side. The living van was de-stabilised by the collision and flipped over to explode in plum-coloured match boarding, a stove, bedding, food and clothes were scattered everywhere.

The tow-bar remained attached to the roller together with the frame and the four wheels. 
This lot was being dragged along on its side when Herbie reached the bottom of the hill.   Ahead of him was a Jeweller’s shop and he had a decision to make.  A tight left or a tight right turn. Left into Rochester High Street or right, towards Chatham.
   
As he was, in any case intending to go along Rochester High Street, and then over Rochester Bridge and thence to Aveling’s works, he decided to GO FOR IT !!!   

The steam roller, astoundingly made the corner but the frame of the living van did not.   
It side-swiped the shop which was not, obviously built as well as the tram.   
The front of the shop caved in and jewellery, clocks and watches exploded out onto the road.

Herbie finally stopped the roller just in front of a tram travelling along the High Street that was heading for Star Hill.

Amazingly no-one was seriously hurt. 

The policeman on point-duty at the bottom of Star Hill sprained his ankle sprinting for safety. Several people on the damaged tram were, lets say ‘over-excited’ and the jeweller was found filthy, angry but more importantly unhurt.  

Herbie was arrested for dangerous driving, and fined.  Aveling & Porter refused to help Uncle Herbie by paying the fine. It was deemed as "absolutely none of the Company’s business".

From some of the things I have read about him he would of been wonderful company over a few pints in the local of an evening.




If anyone has or knows of any more information, IE Newspaper clippings or old photos of the accident. Sentinel S4 would love to hear from you. You can contact Sentinel S4 at the wonderful Kent History Forum.

Star Hill. Rochester. Kent.

Star Hill Mill. 

Bottom of Star Hill 1950's

View facing Rochester High street on the Left

A view looking up Star Hill with the Star Hotel on the left.

The Star Hotel is on the corner of Star Hill and Rochester High Street. Note triangular tram junction and houses in Ironmonger Lane (now Corporation Street)