Explore the poem

The story of ‘Ha’nacker Mill’ was inspired by the fate of an actual mill that Belloc knew in Sussex. The working mill had been struck by lightning in 1905 and was badly damaged. By the time Belloc, a great lover of the Sussex Downs, came across it in the 1920s, it was derelict.

How does Belloc convey the state of the mill in the first verse? Notice how the first word of the poem, repeated at the start of the second line, is a woman’s name, which serves to lend warmth and humanity to the picture of the ruined mill: ‘Sally is gone that was so kindly’.

In lines eight to eleven Belloc repeats the word ‘Spirits’ several times,the word, which suggests emotion and character, also introducing the idea of the mill almost being haunted by a richer past. The neatly crafted three verses with their simple, robust rhymes offer a contrast in form with the now‑dilapidated mill.

In the final stanza the poem states emphatically, ‘England’s done’, and the use of ‘never’ drives home the picture of abandonment and desolation. Is Belloc mourning not just the destruction of a mill but the passing of a way of life?

About Hilaire Belloc

Belloc was an extremely versatile writer, who is best known for his original light verse for children. He was a passionate debater, becoming President of the Oxford Union in the 1890s, an accomplished historian and essayist and an MP representing Salford for four years. Much of his work is underpinned by his staunch and orthodox Catholic faith.

French‑born, Belloc became a British citizen in 1902. He developed a great passion for the English countryside, especially Sussex, where he spent part of his childhood and settled in 1906.

His Cautionary Tales for Children remains popular, and contains titles such as ‘Matilda: Who told Lies and was Burned to Death’, ‘Jim: Who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a Lion’ and ‘Rebecca: Who slammed Doors for Fun and Perished Miserably’. The titles might give an indication that the tales appeal to adults as well as children.