MAY 2023 These are some of the photographs belonging to the family that own the property that show the
windmill.
Windmill, Mill House and other buildings.
West Cowick Mill (Corn)
West Cowick,
East Riding of Yorkshire, DN14 9DL
Operational C1820 - C1915
Demolished 1928
The following historical timeline and description has been taken from an interpretation of the
property Deeds carried out by the Howdenshire Archaeological Society.
History
It seems that the windmill and other buildings were constructed in the first half of the 19th
century between 1798 and 1822 by Mr John Tate, Senior, of Heseltine House in Carlton,
Farmer; who had purchased the land. It was described as measuring approximately 3 roods
and 13 perches and was situated in Cowick. This land was previously part of the estate of
Francis Watson.
William Nottingham was the miller around 1822 but subsequently John Tate, Senior is named
as Miller of Cowick by the time of his death in 1833. After the death of John’s wife, Mary, in
1815, the property was divided between their son, John Tate, Junior and their daughter Jane.
In 1857, John Tate, Junior sells the property to George Dudley Rockett of Snaith, Miller
In 1858 George Dudley Rockett of Cowick, Miller releases the property to John Dimberline of
Snaith, Labourer. It seems that the reason for this release was because John lent George
£130 plus interest with the mill site as security. As he hadn’t paid back the debt, George was
forced to release the site to John. The conveyance describes the property at that time as ‘…the
corn mill with stables, shed, granary and other buildings, together with the dwellinghouse and
conveniences lately erected and built by George Dudley Rockett...’. This is the first time there
is mention of a dwelling house on the property.
In 1894 another Indenture of Conveyance describes the property as ‘…dwelling house with
stables and other outbuildings, yard, garden, ground thereto belonging, roadway lying on the
easterly side. Also, three cottages, with outbuildings and ground thereto belonging, lying
immediately behind the dwelling house and now in the occupation of William Sumner, James
Stones and Arthur Waterland…’. This is the first time there is mention of cottages on the
property. Presumably converted from one or more of the outbuildings.
In 1913 another Indenture of Conveyance, this time from Barclay and Company Limited, 54
Lombard Street, London, Bankers to Henry Holmes of Cowick, Joiner, the property is
described as ‘Mill House in Cowick Field, the old Corn Windmill, yard, stables, shed, granary
and other buildings, plus land adjoining, totalling circa 3 roods and 13 perches. Bounded on
the East by land formerly belonging to the Trustees of Edward Elsdale Clark, deceased, but
now to Edward Thomas Clark. On the West by a lane called Mill Lane, on the North by the
Thorne Road and on the South by the parcel of land or orchard of around 3 roods and 9
perches, bounded on the South by Back Lane’ (Back Lane is now known as Grange Road).
This particular description of the property, with the exception of the old Corn Windmill, is
reflective of the property when the current family took up residence in 1932. The old Corn
Windmill went out of use during World War 1 and was then demolished in 1928. It appears
that the demolition was primarily carried out to reclaim the bricks rather than for any issues
with the structure.
The property now only occupies the northern part of the site as over time the current owners,
sold the land to the South for the construction of dwellings. The current property consists of a
dwelling house (Mill House), outbuildings, pigsty and shed (converted railway carriage) and a
second dwelling, a bungalow (Jargonelle) built on land to the South of Mill House.
During the current family’s tenure, the property has changed on several occasions. Firstly, the
cottages/granary adjoining and to the South of Mill House were mostly demolished. The only
remnants of the structure, is a wall standing adjacent to Mill Lane.
Project Windmill
In 2022, a project was started to try and locate the foundations of the windmill. The project
research began by speaking with family members, then some local historians and finally
exploring the internet. The research revealed a number of photographs of the windmill, some
sketchy information about its location and, via a local historian, a book called ‘The House That
Jack Built’ by Anne Punton in which there is an account of the windmill demolition.
Extract from ‘The House That Jack Built’ by Anne Punton
Fred Robinson was a joiner and undertaker with a workshop in a former Independent Chapel
on Grange Road (referred to as ‘Back Lane’ on older Ordnance Survey maps) in West Cowick.
One of his friends was Billy Punton and he asked Fred if he would employ his younger brother
Jack Punton as an apprentice. Jack began his apprenticeship in 1928 at the age of 15. Jack
felt very proud when he first went to work in a boiler suit with a two-foot folding ruler in his
pocket. The family couldn’t afford a bike so he had to walk to work from his home at Crosshill
in Snaith for an 0800 start. At lunchtime, between 1200 and 1300, he would walk home and
back again, leaving very little time to eat. He enjoyed the work and learnt a lot from Fred and
his brother Edgar including how to make the coffins.
They used to push a handcart around the district going from job to job, sometimes as far as
Carlton or Gowdall. In the handcart were all their tools, materials, timber, paint, etc. In addition,
they used the handcart, to transport the coffins from the home of the deceased to the
churchyard. One of Jack’s first jobs with Fred was nearly his last.
In Jacks own words:
“This day we went to demolish a windmill in West Cowick, not far from our workshop. After
we had dropped the sails, the next thing was to get the roof off that dome covering at the very
top. It was held by wooden spars all round. We loosened these, then the men sent me up to
fix a rope to the roof so that they could pull it down. I had barely tied the rope when, with no
warning, the roof tipped, taking me with it. I flailed out for something to grip. Nothing! Then my body jerked and I found myself dangling in mid-air. A loose spar had hooked into the back of
my jacket. It held me. At the same time the roof jammed and steadied. It felt like a lifetime
before the men got me back to safety. Since being a young child, I had hated heights and this
event certainly got my stomach churning, but I am pleased that I was able to keep my inner
fear hidden from the men.”
OOne of the family members described seeing a circle in the ground during the hot summer of
1976 which might be the footprint of the mill but was unable to give an exact location.
In July 2022 so began the task of finding the foundations of the mill. A combination of drilling
into the ground and then excavating the probable areas was the method used. The drilling
was a little hit and miss as the soil was full of stones. Several small trenches were dug before
anything was unearthed. Some bricks were found in the South Eastern corner near the pigsty.
They were about 12 inches (30 centimetres) below the surface and appeared to be ‘dumped’
in a random fashion. Some of the bricks appeared to be of a modern design with a ‘face’ side.
Others may well have been from the mill walls. It was hard to establish their true identity.
Moreover, the random nature of the position of the bricks didn’t suggest any positive sign of
construction. They could have been dumped in this location after the mill had been
demolished.
Further excavation to the Western edge of the site revealed several bricks set in lime mortar
as well as a stone and lime mortar construction which could be the floor of the mill. The way
the bricks were laid gives the impression that they may have formed part of the mill wall. From
the old photographs of the mill and house it was estimated that the mill may have been around
50-55 feet (15.5-16.5 metres) high. Online research revealed a tower mill of this height would
have had a diameter of about 26 feet (8 metres) at its base. Using this information, and
assuming that the bricks set in mortar was indeed the mill wall, a circle, using white paint, was
drawn on the site 26 feet (8 metres) in diameter.
More excavations took place around the circle to try and find the foundations but nothing was
found. A hole was dug in the centre of the circle to try and reveal the mill floor. More bricks
were discovered set in lime mortar along with some more stone and lime mortar construction.
These bricks could be part of the foundation or they might be one of a number of supports for
a raised wooden floor.
More holes near the South East corner along the white circle revealed some more bricks set
in lime mortar. It is not obvious what these represent as they are not laid in the same manner
as the ones thought to represent the mill wall. All around the site a great deal of stone mixed
with lime mortar was unearthed during these excavations leading to the assumption that the
mill foundation and floor was a mix of stone and lime mortar.
It was decided to take some photographs over head the property using a camera fitted to a
small drone. It was hoped that a photograph might reveal the circle as seen in 1976. Some
family members reported that they could see a circle in the photograph but others didn’t see anything. The photograph below is one taken by the drone, and, the black circle, drawn on by
hand, shows where the mill might be located according to some family members.
Therefore, it was decided that the initial location of the mill was too far North. Using the
information from the drone photographs excavations were then made around the black circle,
in particular adjacent to the brown shed (railway carriage) through which the circle passes.
The discovery of a line of bricks next to the brown shed (railway carriage) with a metal eye
embedded in one that could be the mount for a door or gate gave some credence to the black
circle being mill location.
The mill could lie in an area bounded by points 5, 4, 3 and 8 in photograph 2. Excavations to the North of point 4 and to the East of point 2 in photograph 2 did not reveal any bricks or lime mortar/stone construction. So, it is assumed the mill is not in these areas.
Further exploration of the property was needed using some form of geophysics equipment. A
family member suggested contacting the Mills Archive or a local archaeological society for
help.
The Archaeological Dig
The Mills Archive did reply but didn’t offer any help or new information. The Howdenshire
Archaeological Society did respond and their Vice-Chair contacted the family. After some
email exchanges and a visit to the property it was agreed to conduct an Earth Resistance
Survey. The results of the survey did not reveal any foundations but there was an area of
interest adjacent to the brown shed (railway carriage) - large black area on the image below.
It was decided to explore this area of the property in the Spring of 2023.
Over a two-week period in April/May 2023, the Howdenshire Archaeological Society
conducted a dig on the property with the aim to locate the foundations of the mill. Two trenches
were opened based on the Earth Resistance Survey results. One adjacent to the brown shed
(old railway carriage) called Trench 2 and another one to the North of it called Trench 1.
After the first day of digging the mill floor was discovered in Trench 1
All the finds that were excavated were cleaned and recorded. There were a number of metal
objects recovered including a pen knife, nails, rat trap, something that looked like a metal axle
that might have been part of a cart, part of a bicycle wheel, large coil of wire (not fully
excavated) and a paint tin. Lots of pieces of glass were also found including coloured glass
with lettering that may have been bottles and some pieces of ceramic. Some of the objects
were found beneath the floor level indicating that the site may have been left open once the
demolition had been completed and used as a general dump before being filled at a later date.
The current family took up residence in 1932 and the mill site had been filled in and covered with grass by the time they arrived.
Interestingly one of the holes dug by the family aligned with the stone and lime mortar path found in Trench 1. Not sure what the bricks represent but they appeared to be placed rather than dumped.They might be what sat on top of the stone and lime mortar to make a path.
Trench 2 revealed more of the mill floor and a distinct curve could be seen. Next to the floor
was an area of lime mortar which followed the curve of the floor. The Southern end of Trench
2 was made up of soil and a few random bricks. Further clearing of the soil on the edge of the
lime mortar finally revealed the mill foundations.
Digging down in the soil adjacent to the foundations revealed how they were constructed.
Bricks were laid side by side, 3 deep, directly onto the sub soil. Once this was done a layer of
lime mortar was placed on top. The mill was then built upon this foundation.
The distance between the foundation location in Trench 1 and the foundation wall in Trench 2
was 30 feet (9 metres). The estimation of the diameter of the base of the mill made by the
family was 26 feet (8 metres) which wasn’t far from the mark.
Having located the mill foundation further excavations took place on another part of the
property to try and find the original mill stones. One of the family members remembered that
the mill stones had been broken into large pieces and used as flooring in the Granary/Cottages
building adjacent to Mill House. The foundations of the Granary/Cottages were unearthed
along with a cobble stone floor. However, no mill stones were found.
One of the family members explained that there had been a hand operated water pump on
the outside of the building. It is assumed that the pipe uncovered in the dig fed that water
pump
In the garden of Mill House there is a large stone. The family believe it might be from the mill, perhaps a support for the central wooden drive shaft as the centre of the stone has an concave indentation
The Future
After the excavations, the site was returned to its original state. However, it was decided by
the family to mark the location of the mill and to keep part of the foundations exposed.
The location of the mill is therefore marked by a double row of old bricks found around the
property and set into the ground just below the surface to show where the mill would have
stood. A simple cross made from a piece of stone and 4 old bricks, representing the sails of
the mill, have been buried just below the surface in the centre.
Part of the mill foundations found in Trench 2, close to the brown shed (old railway carriage),
have been left exposed and a viewing area built of wooden railway sleepers topped with a
large perspex screen and surrounded by a small chain fence has been constructed.
In summary, the mill location has finally been revealed with the help of the Howdenshire Archaeological Society. Modern technology has played its part in finding the mill foundations.
The Earth Resistance Survey carried out by the archaeologists and the drone photographs
gave us a clue where to dig.
If we compare the drone photograph with the hand drawn black circle (possible location of the
mill as seen by some family members) to the actual mill location (photograph above), the
location appears to be a match.
As the site of the dig returns to its natural state there will always be a lasting reminder of the
West Cowick Mill; a twin circle of bricks set just below the surface of the soil showing the
location with a section of the mill foundations visible.
Thanks to the Howdenshire Archaeological Society( HAS) and the current family who own the
property, West Cowick Mill will never be forgotten.
By clicking the link below, you can see the full report of this dig. You can also see other HAS projects and items of local history.
Olga and Bob Deighton, the owners of Mill House,
stand proudly beside the Blue Plaque that Bob
has just uncovered ( Saturday 26th August 2023)
Family members standing on the site of the Wind Mill
The inspection pit showing the foundations which
can be seen to the right of the family.
Members of Howdenshire Archaeological Society standing
on the site that they uncovered.