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Whickham - The Windmill
The Windmill in King George's Field (Chase Park) is thought to have stood for at least 300 years. It is made of coarse squared sandstone. The mound surrounds the Mill to a height of 5 feet from ground level. Although it bears the date 1567 the style of the carving is inconsistent with that date and must have been added later.
It is referred to as a 'Tower Mill' and is the only mill still standing in the Gateshead area. It has also been referred to as a 'Palatine Windmill'.
When the Scots invaded Northumberland and Durham in 1640 the English were defeated at the Battle of Stella Haughs (Newburn). This happened at Harvest time and the crops were destroyed, the people fled, and the upper millstones were broken and buried by order.
The Mill was in use until 1835. The Miller at that time was Isaac Baty.
In the summer of 1979 the members of the Whickham Local History Society and some of their friends carried out excavation work inside the Mill under the supervision of Miss Barbara Harbottle County Archaeologist. At that time suggestions on the future use of the Mill was to either declare it as a local history centre for the Whickham area or to use the ground floor of the building as a refreshment kiosk - neither suggestion was developed and the Mill still stands in the park today.
Anya Seton, the famous novelist used the Mill as a setting for a lover's tryst in her historical novel "Devil Water".