Shipley Windmill

The largest mill in Sussex, Shipley Windmill (sometimes known as King's Mill) is an eight-sided smock mill built in 1879. Smock mills are so named because their shape was supposed to resemble a farm labourer's smock. The mill is four stories high and stands atop a brick base that is two stories in height.

The mill was once owned by writer Hillaire Belloc, who lived in the neighbouring house of King's Land (sometimes called Kingsland). A descendant of Belloc still owns the site. The mill operated regularly until 1922 and has been restored several times since then.

For many years the mill was operated by a charitable trust, and visitors could see the inner workings of the mill machinery and watch flour being ground. However, the visitor centre at the mill is now closed to visitors and the interior cannot be viewed.

The mill exterior, however, can still be viewed from the public footpath that runs directly beside the building, so we've left this article online.

The mill will be familiar to viewers of the BBC television detective show 'Jonathan Creek', starring Alan Davies. It served as the setting for the title character's home.

We've explored the footpath that runs beside the mill and you can get a very good view of the mill, though it is a shame you can't actually visit it any more. There is a free layby for parking on the main road through the village, between the mill and the medieval parish church of St Mary.