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Old Windmill, Newton Down, Porthcawl

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NPRN33245
Map ReferenceSS87NW
Grid ReferenceSS8379079050
Unitary (Local) AuthorityBridgend
Old CountyGlamorgan
CommunityPorthcawl
Type Of SiteWINDMILL
PeriodPost Medieval
Description
A derelict, short, upright tower stands near Mount Pleasant Farm, on the edge of an escarpment at an elevation of 307 feet. (RCAHMW, 27 June 1962) The remains are of a type of primitive, shorter, parallel-sided mill, similar to those across the channel in Somerset. (A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of South East Wales, AIA, 2003) The site is depicted and annotated as 'Old Windmill' on the Ordnance Survey 25in County series map of 1877, with an apparently working windmill some 100m to the south, where there are two buildings annotated 'Windmill' - it is not clear however if this is just the name given to the buildings or if there was indeed an working windmill there. Neither site is annotated on the 1941 edition of the map and the builddings are shown as roofless. The mill acted as a navigation mark for vessels aligning Porthcawl harbour breakwater, Porthcawl Inn and the westernmost extend of the notorious Nash Sands. It also provided a bearing to navigate the Nash Swatch channel.

Sources include:
Historic Admiralty Chart 1183-A2, RCAHMW Digital Collections source from UK Hydrographic Office and published in 1839

RCAHMW, February 2012.