Winkley's Wharf, Isle of Dogs;
TQ 3730 7880; (Kevin Wooldridge & David Divers); evaluation & excavation; 4 February-10 March 2000; Redrow Homes (South East) Ltd; WRY99
Overlying natural clay, peat and alluvial deposits a number of in situ Blackthorn or
Plum tree stumps were recorded and interpreted as a possible riverside orchard.
Truncating the fruit trees a NE-SW aligned revetted channel, measuring 13m in length by 2m
in width, was recorded. The channel was seen to be completely silted up with a waterlain
silt/clay deposit. The fill contained Post-Medieval brick and tile. The final backfill of
the channel with a series of dump deposits formed a mound approx. 1.5m higher than the
base of the channel. Pottery wasters from the lowest mound deposit were of tin-glazed
earthenware wasters dated between 1680-1800AD. On top of the mound a brick octagonal
windmill base was later constructed. The type of brick and mortar and the bonding pattern
suggest a construction date of mid 18th-early 19th century. A ledge on the inside face of
the brick octagon appeared to be the footing for floor joists or floor boards. A number of
brick walls were recorded in the area to the S and E of the windmill base and whilst these
outer walls related to each other and spanned a date range comparable to that of the
windmill base, they were not directly associated with the windmill remains.
At the time of reassignment of the lease in 1769 the documentary evidence suggests the
original post-mill on the site had been replaced by a smock-mill. This must be the mill
represented by the octagonal brick remains. Dump deposits inside the brick octagon
appeared to indicate a change in function of the standing building, probably associated
with the addition of a brick steam engine base in the eastern third and beyond the eastern
extreme of the original windmill building. The use of Roman cement in the brick extension
for the steam engine base probably dates to after 1820 and the use of a vertical rotative
steam engine in the new extension is more likely to suggest a late 1830's to early 1840's
date. Both the remains of the brick octagon and the brick extension were sealed by a
roughly octagonal reinforced concrete foundation, probably of mid-20th century date.
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