THE CHINESE NATIONALIST Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925) spent some time in England during the late 1890s. Occasionally, he used to stay with his teacher and friend Sir James Cantlie (1851-1926) at his home in the village of Cottered in Hertfordshire. During a recent visit to this village, I spotted a sign pointing to a lane that led to Cromer Mill. When we arrived at the windmill, we realised that we had been before, but as it is an interesting mill, I will write about it briefly.

Cromer Mill was constructed in the late 17^th century, and is still workable today (having been restored in stages between 1967 and 1998). It is a rare example of a British post mill (the earliest type of European windmill). A post mill contains a sturdy central timber post. This post not only supports the entire mill building, but also serves as the axis around which the whole mill can be rotated so that the blades of the windmill are appropriately oriented to make the most efficient use of the prevailing wind.

The post mill design was succeeded by windmills in which only the top, to which the main blades are attached, rotate. The rest of the mill remains static. Cromer Mill has its main blades that drive the millstones and a set of smaller blades that project from the main body of the windmill and are attached to a series of cogwheels that allow the mill to be rotated by wind power.

During the time that Sun Yat Sen used to visit nearby Cottered, the millers were Ebenezer Boorman and his successor Joseph Ponder Scowen. Whether Sun Yat Sen met either of these men or even visited the mill, remains a mystery.