A view of the windmill which this time includes Hinderwell village in the background. This postcard view (postmarked July 1904) shows the windmill in apparent working order. Danny Plews aked: “Can someone tell me if this windmill was owned by the local coal merchant? I can remember, as a boy sleeping in this Windmill, when I was invited by HIM – forgotten the name! He had someone who was in Friarage Hospital at Northallerton along with my sister Janet!” Anthea Ellis advised: “First mention of a windmill in Hinderwell was 1374, most probably wooden, only designed to last 50 years. The Royal George Union Milll stood until the middle of the twentieth century, and possibly had it’s origins in the eighteenth century. Local tradition has it that this mill was erected in 1820, and it may be that the name came from a sense of royal pride following the coronation of King George IV in that year. It stood seven storeys high, powered by four sails and contained two pairs of French stones and cylinders. Isaac Moon, also the miller at Dalehouse Water Mill, (Baines Directory 1822) erected the mill. His son George inherited the entire estate. Shares to convert to a Union Mill were offered for sale in 1868 in an effort to improve business (Whitby Gazette Notice); Shares £5, Shoulder of Mutton Inn, 6 o’clock Tues 3rd November 1868. A steam engine was installed in 1870. Mentioned in a conveyance in 1873 as “a wind corn mill with steam mill and having two granaries”. It ceased production towards the end of the nineteenth century, with the machinery removed about 1915. The village held dances on the floor of the old windmill. The building was dismantled in the mid 20th century, and the stone sold to build a house in Lythe.”
Image courtesy of Ann Wedgewood and Keith Bowers. thanks to Danny Plews and Anthea Ellis for the updates ,
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