CRICH PARISH

Crich had several windmills which have become "lost" over the years.

Field names containing the word "windmill" crop up several times on the 1849 field names map. One can only surmise how the name came about.

Thomas Dodd's Windmill

From the Wooly manuscripts held at the Derbyshire Record Office ¹:
In the year 1757 Thomas Dodd of Pothouse built a windmill, in close in Plaistow, just opposite the said Pothouse, whence ye close became Windmill Close. The said close had formerly been in three closes, then called the Nether Close, the Long Lands and the Square field. This windmill was pulled down and carried away to Four Lanes End by Johnathan Kendall in 1764
[¹ See Derbyshire Windmills Past & Present by Alan Gifford : Heage Windmill Society]

Note: Four Lanes End is in Oakerthorpe

Crich Windmill on Upper Broom Close

Upper Broom Close is the site of the house called "Penrose" on Sandy Lane.
Evidence of a windmill on this site comes from newspaper reports and 1838-42 OS map.

This is shown as 867 on the 1849 Tithe map for Crich –

The fate of this windmill is unknown, although it assumed to have burned down between 1845 and 1900. The house "Penrose" was built on the site in 1900 and the kitchen was clearly built on old foundations. During work in grounds during the late 1990s a large amount of charcoal and burnt wood was found near to the house which indicated a significant wooden structure had been burnt. Nearby are two large millstones thought to come from the windmill.

Burton's Windmill at Coddington

Evidence of this windmill comes from "The Stone House Document Collection" by Mrs N. Billings. This private collection gives a most detailed history of The Stone House and its lands. The following information is reproduced by kind permission of Mrs N. Billing.

In July 1786 the enclosure surveyors working in Coddington marked out plot 175 which was to be close to the site of the windmill – as indicated by subsequent documents.

Document dated the 5th April 1842 stated that George Cowlishaw (farmer) sold for £100 to Joseph Anable (farmer) of Crich Carr plot No. 175 on the enclosure map – a plot of 4 acres 4 perches at Coddington Bank. This plot was part of the common and waste of Crich parish. This four acre plot has two small pieces of land sold from it: one of 1,100 yards, the other of 150 yards sold to John Burton and Daniel Spencer.

[John Burton was grocer and baker of Crich.]

The Derbyshire and Chesterfield Reporter on 15th September 1842 reported that Mrs Mather, a neighbour of the windmill and of John Burton the miller, had only one child, a little lad of around eight. The windmill fascinated the little boy and he played close to the mill. On the previous Saturday he had taken shelter from heavy rain in the mill, but the miller shooed him away. The lad returned later and, innocently climbing up to the stage around the tower, the massive sail caught his head, wounding him fatally. Mr Hall, the Crich surgeon, used all his skill to save the child’s life but without hope.

Derby Mercury 21 Sept 1842

A conveyance dated16th April 1844 between George Cowlishaw, Joseph Annable of Crich Carr, John Burton of Crich, grocer, Edward Carr late of Preston, druggist, but now of Belper stated that John Burton agreed to buy a further piece of land (150 square yards) from George Cowlishaw for £6, adjacent to John Burton’s other plot and beside John Burton’s windmill. Access to be along the existing seven foot wide trackway, to be widened to nine feet wide. Land to be occupied by Edward Carr for life.

In 1849 the windmill caught fire and was ruined.

Derby Mercury 21 Feb 1849

In a conveyance dated 18th October 1849 between John Burton late of Crich, grocer, but now of Manchester; Joseph Annable of Crich Carr, farmer; Joseph Stone of Wirksworth, gentleman (the solicitor) reference was made to a sale indenture of 12th June 1841 between George Cowlishaw and John Burton. Now, Joseph Annable has paid John Burton £30. At the time of the enclosure plot 175 was assigned to Thomas Carwood; these two pieces of land of 150 square yards are a part of it. A windmill built there following enclosure is now in ruins, but the stone and materials of the windmill are included in the sale.

From a field name map of 1849. "Poddington Allotment" should be "Coddington Allotment" and is Plot 175 on the enclosures map

Conveyance of 25th March 1858 recorded that James Anable of Wirksworth, yeoman, to Walter Yates of Crich Carr, higgler, who has paid over now £340 including interest for the newly erected house on land described at enclosure as plot 175, but excluding the two fields of 150 square yards each. A windmill had been built here.

It is assumed that some of the stone from the ruined windmill was used to build Stone House. The 1880 maps shows the house building on plot 599.

Reproduced from 1880 Ordnance Survey map with the kind permission of Ordnance Survey.

Sites of the three known Crich Windmills.

Reproduced from 1838-1842 Ordnance Survey map with the kind permission of Ordnance Survey.

Fritchley windmill

What is beyond doubt is that Fritchley had at least one windmill as evidence clearly remains.

An oddity with the photographs above and below. Above – the windmill is more delapidated than the cottage; below – the cottage is more delapidated than the windmill. Was the cottage repaired between the two photographs?

Photo 2010: Peter Patilla

Alan Gifford, in his excellent book "Derbyshire Windmills Past & Present" (Heage Windmill Society), states that this post mill must have been built before 1793. He names the following millers:

Elijah Hall (1817); Eliza Hall (1829); John Hall (1846–1855); George Fletcher (1862); James Slack (1864 –1887)