Mill news and topical information - Archive page 1

Mobile phone mast disguised as wind engine

Californian planning commissioners have decreed that a mobile phone mast must fit the rural scene. The tower design proposed by Verizon looks like a non functioning wind turbine, but the planners think this looks too modern, and that a design resembling a windpump may be more fitting.
Item: #24, Posted: 22/2/03.

Old Bass River Road - Cape Cod

This article telling the history of the Old Bass River Road, South Dennis, Cape Cod notes:

Derick's 1725 map places a windmill over there on Old Chatham Road. "It was owned by Hattil Kelley, a descendent of David Kelley, who settled that land back in the 1600s," Derick says. "The windmill is not shown on the 1830s map. No one knows why it disappeared."
Item: #23, Posted: 21/2/03.

"Vetter Windmill has an air of history"

The Daily Breeze looks at the history of the wind engine in Hermosa Beach, California.

Built in 1903 by Herman Vetter, one of the town's founding fathers, it originally irrigated his flower farm. By 1968 the farmland was sold for building apartments on, so local residents raised money towards the $2000 relocation costs, to relocate it as a landmark a few blocks away. A restoration completed in 2000 by Steve Storm and other locals sorted out years of slow decay of the structure, and the article looks forwards to the landmark being enjoyed by future generations.
Item: #22, Posted: 20/2/03.

Chatham windmill photo from summer 2002

A photo essay by Walter Brooks takes us on a ramble around Chatham, Cape Cod, and includes a photo from 2002 of the shoreline windmill in its field of wildflowers.
Item: #21, Posted: 20/2/03.

German and Czech museums damaged in the August 2002 floods

In August 2002 heavy rainfall lead to severe flooding affecting the region of Saxony and the Czech Republic. Since mills are by their nature located by the watercourses, many of them were heavily damaged by the floods.

The 23 most damaged museums in Germany included the boat mill at the Dueben Heath Countryside Museum - Castle Dueben, and 4 other mills.

There is extensive information in English, and even more detail in German.
Item: #20, Posted: 19/2/03.

Derelict Norfolk windmills could generate electricity

Professor Keith Clayton has plans to use derelict Norfolk windmills such as the 15 mills along the River Yare at Halvergate Marshes, to generate electricity. The idea is in its infancy and uncosted, but Michael Knights, of Norfolk County Council has been convinced.
Mills: [Halvergate Marshes]
Item: #19, Posted: 19/2/03.

Animated watermill screensaver

The watermill screensaver from 3planesoft is in effect an animated computer movie of a watermill.

The movie effect has the "camera" flying around and through the scene, which consists of the stone built mill with a slowly revolving wooden overshot wheel, located alongside a weir in a wooded setting. The sunlight plays on the mill, and the trees wave, whilst a rowing boat bobs around on the millpond.

This program was written by a computer games company, and that very much shows - this is a computer fantasy watermill, rather than a real mill, and to run the program you do need a powerful games oriented machine - my business PC was unable to run it. The system is available as a huge trial download, and costs $19 to register.
Item: #18, Posted: 19/2/03.

Bonnie's Notes From The Mill - Pella, Iowa, USA

The latest newsletter from the Pella Historical Society notes that the Vermeer Windmill Project was named as the Tourist Attraction of the Year by the Iowa Tourism office and the Travel Federation. Between 4th July and October 2002, the windmill had 7692 guests

Projects in progress for 2003 include:

Production of jackets for the miller and mill guides half funded by a grant from Central Iowa Tourism
Sale of whole wheat flour that is ground in the mill once they have a state permit and a means of packaging of the flour
Preparing the second floor of the Interpretive Center for the Miniature Dutch Village

Item: #17, Posted: 19/2/03.

WindStuffNow

Just found an interesting site at WindStuffNow, covering building your own wind turbines. The site itself is maintained by wind power.
Item: #16, Posted: 18/2/03.

Reigate Heath windmill restoration

The restoration of Reigate Heath windmill has won third place in the Green Apple Awards, recognising outstanding work to preserve the country's architectural heritage. The restoration programme carried out last year involved adding a new set of sails, repairing boarding and work to sympathetically redecorate, reinforce and replace parts of the structure.
Mills: [Reigate Heath]
Item: #15, Posted: 17/2/03.

Upminster windmill January 2003 newsletter

The January 2003 newsletter from the Friends of Upminster Windmill details plans for the restoration of the mill this year.

The number of days the mill will open this year has been increased, with the first opening weekend on the 5-6th April. In addition, the windmill's bicentenary will be celebrated with a special event on Sunday 13th July.
Mills: [Upminster]
Item: #14, Posted: 17/2/03.

Skoda Owners Club days out

The Skoda Owners Club of Great Britain have 2 visits to mills planned for September 2003, with Sutton windmill scheduled for the 14th, and Waltham Abbey Gunpowder Mills for the 21st. See their events page for more details.
Mills: [Sutton]
Item: #13, Posted: 17/2/03.

National Mills Weekend on the Air, 2003

As in many previous years, the Denby Dale Radio Society are coordinating amateur radio broadcasts from mills open as part of National Mills Weekend, 10-11th May 2003
Item: #12, Posted: 17/2/03.

Valentines Day dinner

OK, so my news service is a bit slow off the mark, but the restaurant at Gleaston Watermill held a sell-out Valentines Day dinner.
Item: #11, Posted: 17/2/03.

Portuguese windmill villa for rent

The travel section of The Guardian of 4th Jan carried an article about a windmill on the Algarve which can be rented.
Item: #10, Posted: 17/2/03.

SPAB Mills Section events for 2003

The SPAB Mills Section Calendar of events for 2003 is available, with highlights of

15th March - The Spring Conference on Wind Engines at Westminster College, 309 Regents Street, Central London
10th/11th May - National Mills weekend
15th Nov - Autumn Meeting on Horizontal Waterwheels at Imperial College, South Kensington, London
29th Nov - Rex Wailes Lecture at the Art Workers' Guild, London

Item: #9, Posted: 17/2/03.

Sir Alfred Munnings' bithplace for sale

The watermill at Mendham, the birthplace of Sir Alfred Munnings is for sale.
Item: #8, Posted: 16/2/03.

Documentary "Lost in La Mancha"

Terry Gillam's film about Don Quixote was halted during it's shoot in Spain in 2000. All that survives of the project is this documentary film now on limited theatrical release in the USA. [another review] [another]
Item: #7, Posted: 16/2/03.

Windmill "house" for sale in New Jersey

One of the many windmill shaped buildings in the USA, that have never actually been windmills at all, is for sale. This one is in Barnegat, New Jersey.

Update: [Sales particulars]
Item: #6, Posted: 16/2/03.

Mills on TV

There have been a number of recent TV programs in the UK featuring mills:

Salvage Squad worked to restore the Waltham Chase watermill in Hampshire. Aired: Channel 4, 6th Jan 2003
Time Team did an excavation at Merton Abbey Mills, at the site of the water powered Liberty fabric works. Aired: Channel 4, 9th February 2003
The episode A Tale of Two Hamlets in the detective series Midsomer Murders, featured Brill windmill. [more info.] Aired: ITV, 24th Jan 2003

Update: A series of 10 programmes currently titled Restoration is due to be screened on BBC2 in September, where one of the programmes covers work on Moulton windmill in Leicestershire.
Mills: [Brill]
Item: #5, Posted: 16/2/03.

Topical picture

"The Times" today carried a winter picture of skaters skating past a windmill, merely to illustrate their story about "interest rates frozen".
Item: #4, Posted: 15/2/03.

News from the Mills Archive Trust

The Mills Archive Trust have secured a location for their Library and Research Room.
Item: #3, Posted: 31/1/03.

International Molinology Conference, Mallorca

The Council of Mallorca and the Friends of Windmills Association of Majorca are organising an International Molinology Conference from May 1st to 3rd 2003, at Sa Nostra Cultural Centre Assembly Room, C/ Concepció, 12 07012 Palma, Mallorca.
Item: #2, Posted: 31/1/03.

Wearside windmill tragedy remembered

The BBC reports that a ceremony was held at Fulwell mill, Sunderland on 7th January 2003 to mark the death of a windmill worker 169 years ago.
Mills: [Fulwell Mill]
Item: #1, Posted: 7/1/03.

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