Sydenham Town Forum

Robert, you haven't got any photos of the windmill have you? I've written a history of it after it was moved from Dulwich in the 1820s and Home Cottage and the Mill House were both linked to it.

Matthäus Seutter's map of London and its environs (circa 1730) shows a hill to the south of the "North Wood" topped with a tiny windmill. Could this be it?

http://www.oldmapsonline.org/map/cuni/1013263

That's the Norwood windmill, of which very little is known. It disappeared about a hundred ...

And Lois... two post mills were advertised for sale at Stratford, then in Essex, in 1808. They were advertised for removal, due to a canal being built.

One of these I suspect was the post mill at Shirley, bought cheaply and moved in 1808/9, which accounts for the tale of parts of the tower mill ...

Just to update everyone on this. I have managed to push back the windmill's existence in Sydenham to as early as 1826, and I expect to go further. The general belief now is that Thomas Kemp, miller of Bree Kill Mill, Dulwich purchased the mill and some cottages on the Dulwich estate for £110, and as ...

Tanneries were quite common even until recent times. I remember one being surveyed by GLIAS in a back street in Walworth in the early eighties.

There was one at Deptford Bridge up to the 1850s, with a wind-powered bark mill attached; there was also one at Crayford, water-powered, demolished in the ...

Hi Lois


I was chief guide at Keston on the Saturday, and on Sunday was swamped by people with questions as the book was launched there and then, so less of a guide, although I did take a few groups of experts around. If it helps, I was probably the youngest guide (!)

I know Shirley Mill well, and ...

And ManwithaView, I'm happy to support the Kirkdale bookshop in any way they see fit, if they would like to stock it. Already lined up talks with various societies, and Sydenham would be a welcome return, as I used to live very close to the site of the mill for some years.

Hi Lois

Apologies for the late reply!

Shirley windmill, although in Surrey, gets a big mention in the book. I was showing people round the windmill on the cover of the book at Keston on Open House weekend, which would have been fairly similar to the one at Sydenham, i.e. a post mill.

Hope you ...

Just to update all this, many years on.. The book is now published and includes pretty much what I believe to be the story of Sydenham Windmill. Ironically that story begins in 1626 in an adjoining county. It's all in the book, as are the histories of 45 other South London/NW Kent windmills ...

Hi Mary

Apologies for late reply.

I would happily do that, but I've moved out of Sydenham these days.

I can't imagine you'd turn up a millstone, but a picture would be fantastic.

Thank you Falkor, but I will only feel happy once Mr Grindlay has scrutinised the page!

That painting is dated 1812, so probably too early for the mill at either site.

The problem I've always had, is that the mill is of an older 'post' type, and they were simply not built as new-build structures in the 1830's, from which the Mill Gardens Windmill starts appearing in references. Even ...

Hiya folks...

Sorry to drag up this old chestnut. I've been going through newspaper ads stored in British newspapers online, and came up with an interesting result or two:

From London Standard Sat 02 Jun 1827:

"A freehold post windmill, and garden ground adjoining, situate at Peak Hill, Sydenham ...

You mentioned the “site is described on a map dated 1790, as 'Wind-mill Hill'.” Could this be John Roque’s map of Surrey (published posthumously in 1768, I think):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/3749639021_91728102ba_o.jpg
This places “Wind Mill Hill” firmly within the present Crystal ...

Just to add to all this; I've finally tracked down the photo of the mill, which turns out to be a bit of a disappointment, as I've seen it on this site a number of times.

This photo of the Costcutter site:

http://www.rarekungfumovies.com/sydenham/fifth.jpg

If you look at the top right corner ...

deleted message

Thankyou Steve, for a top quality reply, which thankfully doesn't refer to that stone in Home Cottage, which I'm sure is a red herring.

Rob, I'm sure you're right about the anomaly of a post mill being built during the 1830s. On the other hand, I still have difficulty accepting that it was built ...

A fascinating article, Rob, thanks. I do have a couple of comments.


It is very much a work in progress, as it is for fifty other mills spread over NW Kent. I add something to it, every time I visit an archive. The problem is 'where to draw the line'.


You say that in 1851 the Brigdens resided ...

Howdy all...


I've had a scan through the threads related to the windmill that used to stand in Mill Gardens, and thought it might be a good idea to put up my notes on it here. I've been writing a book on the windmills of South East London/NW Kent for some time.

This is what I've worked out so far ...