White Mill

White Mill stands west of Sandwich in Kent, a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. It was built in 1760 and still has four spring sails and a fantail for winding. The mill drives two pairs of stones by wind and a third pair by an engine. Much of the machinery, including the brake wheel and wallower, is made of wood. The millstones are overdrift, turning above the runner stones. The mill was worked by the Stanley family for many years and last turned by wind in 1926. After that it ran on a 28-horsepower oil engine until 1957. Vincent Pargeter repaired the mill in the 1960s and fitted sails from the demolished Tower mill at Wingham. Sandwich Borough Council took ownership in 1968, later passing it to Kent County Council. Volunteers restored the mill to working order in the 2010s, fitting a new cap in 2023 and four new sails in 2025. Visitors enter the miller’s cottage furnished as it was between 1900 and 1939. Outbuildings hold farming and craft tools, a wheelwright’s shop and a blacksmith’s workshop. The site forms the White Mill Rural Heritage Centre, where displays explain the mill’s history and machinery. The surrounding area is rural, with views across the open Kent countryside. The restored mill and its workshops offer a clear picture of milling life in past centuries.