King's Mill or Vincent's Mill, Shipley, West Sussex, England is a smock mill built in 1879 which has been restored and was open to the public until its closure on 19 July 2009.
King's Mill was built in 1879 at a cost of £2,500 by Messrs Grist and Steele, the Horsham millwrights. Machinery from a windmill at Coldwaltham is believed to have been incorporated in the mill. The mill worked commercially until 1926, latterly by a steam engine. It was bought in 1906 by Hilaire Belloc, who owned it until his death in 1953. King's Mill was restored as a memorial to Belloc soon after his death. The restoration was done by E Hole and Sons, the Burgess Hill millwrights. The restored mill was opened to visitors for the first time in 1958. It West Sussex County Council had the responsibility for the upkeep of the mill, which remained in the ownership of the Belloc family. The Shipley Windmill Charitible Trust was formed in 1987 and which had responsibility for the maintenance. Further restoration work was carried out by Hole's between 1987 and 1990, when the mill re-opened, although with only two sails at that time. The second pair of sails was fitted in 1991. A new pair of sails and a new stock were fitted in November 2004.King's Mill is in working order. On 7 April 2009, it was announced that the mill was to close to the public as the lease owned by Shipley Mill Charitable Trust only had three years to run and they had been notified that the lease would not be renewed when it expired. The mill opened for the 2009 season on 5 April, and held its last open day on 19 July.
King's Mill is a four storey smock mill on a two storey brick base. It has four Patent Sails carried on a cast iron windshaft. The octagonal conical cap is winded by a fantail. The Brake Wheel is wood, driving a cast iron Wallower on an oak Upright Shaft. This carries a cast iron Great Spur Wheel which drives three pairs of overdrift millstones.
Reference for above:-
The mill was used for external shots for Jonathan Creek's home in the BBC series of that name.
Hemming, Peter (1936). The Windmills in Sussex. London: C W Daniel. Online version
