Old Windmill, Whitemill, Co. Wexford

Co. Wexford |

Kilns

Old Windmill, Whitemill, Co. Wexford

Beneath a patch of grass in a modern housing estate on Whitemill Road, Co. Wexford, there may lie the remains of a windmill that was already old enough to be labelled as such on an Ordnance Survey map drawn in 1839.

The circular feature marked on that early OS six-inch edition at Whitemill South is all that cartography offers by way of a physical trace, and today even that much has vanished from view, absorbed into the unremarkable green space of a residential development.

The site has a considerably longer paper trail than its current appearance suggests. The Down Survey, a remarkably ambitious mid-seventeenth-century land mapping project carried out between 1656 and 1658 under the direction of William Petty, recorded a windmill on a barony and parish map of St. Peter's parish. The precise location given in that survey is listed under Newtown and a place called Carrow Parkes, a townland name that no longer appears on modern maps but which is thought to correspond to the area now known as Whitemill. The place-name Whitemill itself is suggestive: whitened or lime-washed mill towers were a practical feature in Ireland, making them visible landmarks across open country, and the name may preserve a memory of exactly that. The mill stood on a broad hill, with the Bishop's Water stream running roughly south-west to north-east some 170 metres to the south, a positioning consistent with the exposed, elevated sites typically chosen to catch prevailing winds.

Nothing of the structure is visible today. The grassed-over space within the housing estate gives no outward indication of what may lie beneath it, and the site rewards historical curiosity more than a physical visit.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Old Windmill, Whitemill, Co. Wexford. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement