Funding Specialist Craftworkers to Repair Meopham Windmill

The ‘smock’ name refers to a supposed resemblance of its six sloping sides to agricultural worker’s clothing.

The mill was restored in the 1960s, however, the timbers of the ‘reefing stage’ (the oak deck surrounding the platform at 2nd floor level) had decayed and become unsafe for public or maintenance access.

The COVID-19 Emergency Heritage at Risk Response Fund, part of the Culture Recovery Fund, awarded a grant of £24,894 for the repair and replacement of the reefing stage to provide work for specialist locally-based contractors to repair and replace the ironmongery and oak deck.  

The building is due to be re-opened by Kent County Council. The funding has enabled the Council to unlock further council-based funding to include a millwright-training element, a skill that has been on the Heritage Crafts Association's 'HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts' since 2019.