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Mill news and topical information - Archive page 24

windmills Upminster mill reduced to two sails

Following the recent storms which broke one of the stocks at Upminster windmill, to make the structure safe, the broken sail and it's opposite pair have been removed, leaving the mill with just two sails.

The broken stock was sawn through to get it down, and once on the ground the sails have been sawn off - leaving just the bare stock. I'm not sure why that was done - perhaps that was seen as the best way to recover the shutters and metalwork that will be needed when new sails are produced. As well as breaking the sails themselves, the falling sail also caused damage to the cap and less so to the mill body. Part of the cap has been temporarily repaired, but more work will be needed. The spider which controlled the shutters in the sails is badly damaged, bent completely out of shape.

Mills: [Upminster]
See also:Item #593
Item: #599, Posted: 13/2/07.

mills Flour Power - National Mills Weekend 12th/13th May 2007

The SPAB have issued their press release about this years National Mills Weekend:
Over the weekend of 12th/13th May more than 400 of the country's wind and watermills will be open to the public as part of (SPAB's) the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings National Mills Weekend - an event which celebrates Britain's milling heritage. With questions about sustainable energy and interest in where our food comes from traditional Wind and Watermills provide some of the answers. All over the country families and individuals will be able to visit a variety of mills that have harnessed natural power for centuries.

Many mills from Little Salkeld in Cumbria to Lyme Regis in Dorset have in recent years opened bakeries where visitors can sample the produce made from the flour which is usually grown locally as well.

Simon Hudson from SPAB says: “"What better way of protecting the environment and supporting local food than by visiting your local mill? It is satisfying to know that even in our computerized age, technology that provided bread for our ancestors is still in use today."

More than 30 mills nationwide are run commercially these include Mapledurham in Oxfordshire with its unique lady miller and Maud Foster Windmill in Boston probably the finest working windmill in the country. Many of these mills are members of the Traditional Corn Millers Guild which was established by three SPAB members. The SPAB Mills Section regularly produces a book giving details of which mills are open to the public. The 8th edition of Mills Open is being published to coincide with National Mills Weekend this year.

Visiting Britain's wind and watermills is often seen as a nostalgic link to our past, but could they provide an environmentally friendly answer to some questions facing us today?

Item: #598, Posted: 12/2/02.

windmills A celebration of the life of Bob Morse

Debra Nicholson, who worked very closely with Bob Morse, running his Wind Engine Park, has put together a Celebration of the life of Bob Morse.

As she states, talking about Bob's life achievements:
Quite a legacy for a quiet man. A legacy that must continue long into the future... a legacy that must teach children... a legacy that should encourage others... a legacy for enthusiasts to enjoy... a legacy that we must preserve.

Bob Morse thank you.

Mills: [Repps with Bastwick] [Thurne Dyke] [Northbourne]
See also:Item #585
Item: #597, Posted: 7/2/07.

windmills New cap for Pilling now lifted into place

On 2nd Feb 2007, Pilling windmill had a newly built cap lifted into place, in a process that took just 2 hours. The cap was designed to match Marsh Mill at Thorton Clevelys as both mills were built by Ralph Slater. It was built by Neil Medcalfe - a traditional millwright from Lincolnshire. He built it there and then transported it to Pilling and reassembled it. It was ready to be put on since October, but the weather was not good enough. The cap weighs 2.7 tonnes and is 18 feet high. It has restored the windmill to its rightful place as the tallest in the Flyde standing at over 73 feet.

Mills: [Pilling]
See also:Item #566
Item: #596, Posted: 7/2/07.

windmills Pointe-Claire windmill gets funding for a facelift

The windmill in Pointe-Claire, Quebec is the symbol of the community, and after years of lobbying, the city council has put aside $500,000 Canadian towards its restoration. That should go towards repairing the fabric of the tower, including doors and windows, and also for work on the roof. A further stage, of restoring the mill workings is as yet unfunded.

The funding is reported by the local news outlets of The Suburban, and The Chronicle.
Item: #595, Posted: 1/2/07.

windmills New website illustrates progress at Broad Eye windmill

Broad Eye windmill in Staffordshire is currently being adapted to house an Industrial Heritage Museum. The tower was stripped of machinery over 100 years ago, so the plan is to restore the mill to its appearance in around the 1920s, during which time it became a butchers shop! There is a newly reinstated shop front, and the renovated ground floor has been opened to visitors on Special Open days already. The new website offers a history of the mill, a photo gallery, more details of the Heritage museum, and some more substantial downloads including a Powerpoint presentation on the mill from 1795-2006
Mills: [Stafford]
Item: #594, Posted: 31/1/07.

windmills Upminster windmill broke a sail in the storms

The storms of 18th Jan broke a stock at Upminster windmill, leaving the sail hanging but still attached by the shutter control mechanism. It's unclear yet if other damage was caused.

There is a picture of the mill in this state on the Upminster Mill news page.
Mills: [Upminster]
Item: #593, Posted: 29/1/07.

windpumps Winds of Life: Windmills across Nebraska

Winds of Life: Windmills across Nebraska is Nebraska's first ever statewide arts and tourism project, taking as its theme the familiar American windpump. From the publicity materials they sent me:
Why windmills? Because of the importance they played in settling Nebraska and the western part of the United States. Windmills were central to providing water to homes and farms who settled further from the rivers. Now the view of a windmill is a nostalgic one. Modern technology has not given up on the windmill, either. Wind turbines are providing energy around the world, including Nebraska's own Kimball and Ainsworth. Nebraska State Poet Laureate Bill Kloefkorn has shared with us and allowed us to use one of his poems that centers around a windmill. Our governor is even declaring 2007 the “Year of the Windmill!
The website is a bit bare at the moment, but hopefully will be updated as this project proceeds throughout the year.
Item: #592, Posted: 28/1/07.

windmills Windmills in the West Sussex Past Pictures collection

West Sussex Past Pictures is the official database of heritage photographs, prints, drawings and paintings provided by West Sussex local museums and the County Library Service. It presents over 8000 of the best images from the 1640s to the present, and the images can be viewed, downloaded and printed for educational or private use free of charge. Many of the rural images, which is where windmills typically occur, are from the collection of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton.

Searching for "windmill" shows a good number of matches, with some very interesting images amongst them, though unfortunately it seems impossible to accurately bookmark or link to individual results. You will have to do the search yourself, then look out for the following items:
Item: #591, Posted: 28/1/07.

mills Wedding venues in mills

I've been asked if I know of (specifically) windmills which are licenced to hold wedding ceremonies in the UK. Widening this to all forms of mills that are so licenced, I've currently got the following list. Updates, if you know of any venues that I'm missing, are very welcome.

Windmills

Watermills

Update:[31/7/08] A few other mills that are licenced to hold weddings:
Mills: [Cley next the Sea] [Willesborough] [Bromsgrove] [Seacroft Mill] [Singleton]
Item: #590, Posted: 28/1/07.

windmills Comprehensive catalogue of Windmills on Stamps

For many years, La Biblioteca del Tio Kinke was one of the best windmill resources on the Internet, being regularly updated with great links to information about windmills in all forms. However, in recent years, the once monthly updates have slowed to a real trickle - in fact after just one update in each of 2003, 2004 and 2005, there was no update at all in 2006.

However, the site owner, Pedro López-Pintor Díaz-Galiano has come up with a really great update to start off 2007. One of his passions is for windmills depicted on stamps, and he has assembled a huge PDF file titled "100 anos del sellos con Molinos de Viento" (100 years of windmill on stamps). This download, announced on the "new updates page" is 144 pages long, and catalogues, with illustrations, as far as I can tell, every stamp issued by official postal authorities that depicts a windmill (traditional, wind engine, wind turbine, or child's toy) through to the end of 2006. There are also some unofficial issues documented - and the file comes with a warning that the locations ascribed to issues are for guidance only - as counties changed their names over time, the postal authorities situation is not always straightforward. Whilst the file is in Spanish, that's not generally a problem - there is not much text to be read at all - the stamps generally speak for themselves.

The catalogue also includes a good number of postmarks that show windmills from around the world, and a short selection of Spanish stamps for taxation rather than postage.
Item: #589, Posted: 27/1/07.

windmills Year of the Mills, 2007 - De Hollandsche Molen

2007 the 600th anniversary of the first polder windmills being built in the Netherlands, so the Dutch mill association De Hollandsche Molen have declared 2007 the "Jaar van de Molens 2007" ("Year of the Mills, 2007"). I'm sure lots of events are planned around this, though I've not come across an English language summary of what's happening. That seems a real shame to me - it's obviously getting a big push, with lots of publicity, so why not target foreign tourists as well as simply domestic Dutch ones?

By a rough translation of the press release, I gather that:

Update:[28/1/07] The AFP ran a widely syndicated article on this : Dutch celebrate their history-defining windmill. Included are a number of quotes ascribed to Leo Endedijk, the chairman of the association for the conservation of Dutch windmills: Take those facts with a pinch of salt - journalists rarely quote verbatim, and given that the quotes have been translated I'm sure there is even more scope for twisting of the exact meaning. (Note that the "Year of the Mills" has actually been mistranslated as "Year of the Windmills", so the whole premise of the article is shifted from the start. Yes, the Dutch do have watermills, and they are just as much part of this year's celebration as the windmills are).
Item: #588, Posted: 26/1/07.

windmills Windmills in the Snow - Jan 2007

The South and East of England had a brief period of snow this week, which at least where I was melted within a few hours. However, in that time, a few photographers managed to snap a photo or two of their local windmill in the snow. Via Flickr, you can view images of Lowfield Heath, Wheatley, and Cholesbury.
Mills: [Charlwood] [Hawridge] [Wheatley]
Item: #587, Posted: 26/1/07.

windmills Holderness Road mill, Hull loses sail in gales

Another casualty of this months gales has been brought to my attention - Holderness Road mill in Hull lost a sail. There is a photo of the mill, now down to 3 sails at Geograph.

Update:[27/1/07] There are more photos of the mill in its current state on Flickr: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Mills: [Hull]
See also:Item #581
Item: #586, Posted: 26/1/07.

windpumps Bob Morse has passed away.

Bob Morse, July 2006 It's with great sadness that I note that Bob Morse died on 2nd Jan 2007.

Bob had a long fascination with windmills (and especially windpumps), and had dedicated much of his life to their preservation. 60 years ago he purchased the derelict Thurne Dyke mill, and began work on restoring it. Now leased to the Norfolk Windmills Trust, the mill is restored to working order. Bob also assembled a terrific collection of windpumps, now known as Morse's Wind Engine Park, and along the way was responsible for saving many other items of fenland drainage equipment, including a number of steam engines.

Mills: [Repps with Bastwick] [Thurne Dyke]
Item: #585, Posted: 23/1/07.

windmills Oldland Mill, Keymer website

Somehow I've managed to miss until now the site dedicated to the restoration of Oldland Windmill, Keymer in Sussex. The site covers the history of the mill, and its protracted restoration. There's a detailed illustrated diary of the past couple of years, with the sails now nearing completion - there's news of the last shutter being "sold" (= sponsored) in December 2006. Open days for 2007 are listed.

Further details of events across all Sussex windmills can be found at the Sussex Mills Group events page.
Mills: [Keymer]
Item: #584, Posted: 22/1/07.

windmills Survey of site of Ashcombe Mill, Lewes, Sussex

A joint excavation/survey of the site of Ashcombe Mill, Lewes, Sussex was carried out by the Sussex Mills Group and Lewes Archaeology Society. The photo appears to show that the base of the brick piers supporting the crosstrees still survive, though the mill itself was blown down in March 1916. Artefacts found included shutter pivots and millstone fragments.
Item: #583, Posted: 22/1/07.

watermills Time Team dig at Dutton Mill, Devon airs 11th March

Last July, the Time Team had a dig at the ancient mill site at Dotton, Devon. The programme showing what they found is scheduled to air in the new series of Time Team, on the 11th March, 2007.

I also see, via wikipedia, that the conversion of the De Montalt paper mill in Somerset is due to appear on Grand Designs this Spring.
Item: #582, Posted: 22/1/07.

windmills St Olaves windpump tailwinded

The storms that ravaged much of the UK last week caused damage to a large number of buildings.

Michael Roots reports that St Olaves windpump, Norfolk, was one of those damaged - probably tailwinded, and he sent this picture taken 21/1/07 - showing the cap has been lifted off, though fortunately it is still attached to the mill body, and not smashed to pieces. (The sails appear to be undamaged - the "step" visible in the frame of the sail is a design feature - the rear pair of sails have this step, so that they do not catch on the body of the mill).

There is a picture of the mill from last summer on flickr.

Mills: [Fritton]
Item: #581, Posted: 22/1/07.

windmills Impeach on the Beach, San Francisco

I think this photo, released for media coverage with credit to The Beach Impeach Project is great. Whilst not commenting on the politics of the protest to impeach George Bush, held on 6th January 2007, the picture is a spectacular view of the Dutch windmill in Golden Gate Park, with the further unmistakable image of the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. I can't recall seeing these two together in one image before - all credit to the photographer.

There are plenty of other photos of the protest on the site, several of which also feature the windmill.

Item: #580, Posted: 15/1/07.

windmills Impington windmill - night shot

It must be the day for unusual photos of windmills on Flickr. This Creative Commons licensed image from Mark from Cambridge also appeared, showing Impington windmill, taken at night, then post-processed into a black and white image.

Mills: [Impington]
Item: #579, Posted: 15/1/07.

windmills Unusual view of Chesterton's roof

There is a photo just appeared on Flickr showing the roof of Chesterton windmill, shot from directly above. It's an unusual view and finely composed, though it's a shame that it's only shown in a small size image. It's an example of KAP (Kite Aerial Photography).
Mills: [Chesterton]
Item: #578, Posted: 15/1/07.

windpumps The Eiffel Wind Engine

Everyone's heard of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, a fair few could probably tell you that the same Gustave Alexandre Eiffel built the framework for New York's Statue of Liberty, yet very few would expect that Eiffel also designed something as mundane as a wind engine.

A surviving example of the Eiffel wind engine is to be found in San Esteban, Cordoba, Argentina.

I was alerted to this by these creative commons licenced pictures on flickr by John.

This page in Spanish, when translated notes that:
Dolores Mill: By the testimony of the descendants of the Olmos family, longtime local residents, and descendants of Doña Maria Arislao de Olmos, we know that this mill of French construction designed by the French engineer Alexandre Eiffel, entered the country for the Rural Exhibition of the turn of the century (1900) together with another identically constructed from the same origin, and that both were acquired by Mrs. Maria Arislao de Olmos who placed one on her estate of Dolores and the other on the estate "El Duraznillo" in Rio Cuarto. From the same sources, we learn the other unit was dismantled, leaving this as the sole surviver in the country and perhaps in South America (the dismantled unit was sent to Paraquay). Even today, the mill continues to supply water to the settlers.
Corrections to my translation are welcomed!

The same site has a few more images: I think it's fair to say that it not in working order anymore, but a very impressive survivor none the less.
Item: #577, Posted: 11/1/07.

windmills Tuxford windmill running as a full time business

Paul and Fari Wyman, the owners of Tuxford windmill in Nottinghamshire, run the mill as a fully time business. They have been in operation for around 18 months, and the windmill opens daily (except Tuesdays) throughout the year, at work whenever the wind is blowing.

The business also features a well stocked tea room which serves hot and cold drinks, Fari's home made soups, filled rolls, breads and cakes etc. Paul sells a wide variety of freshly home milled flour's and muesli in the tea shop (and also at several local Farmers Markets including Worksop, and Retford).

More details are to be found on the Tuxford Windmill website.
Mills: [Tuxford]
Item: #576, Posted: 10/1/07.

windmills Willam Jerrems silver token

I've written previously about the William Jerrems silver token, passing on information from a couple of correspondents who had a connection with the Gainsborough area and the Jerrems family. I've now been contacted by another far flung relative, William Jerrems V of Boise, Idaho, who writes
"I inherited the Jerrems windmill coin from my Grandfather "Jerry" the III upon his death in 1968. It is my understanding that the coin was issued by the British mint to handle transactions between the Jerrems linen company in Gainsborough and the American delivery port at Norfolk, Virginia (I think). The linen interests, as near as I am aware, are reflected in the windmill."
I'm indebted to all my correspondents, and this is a fascinating example of piecing a jigsaw together bit by bit. I'd not tracked down a direct connection between William Jerrems and a specific windmill, and this latest piece of information suggests that there may well not be a direct connection - the windmill and the sailing boat are merely indicative both of trade, and of uses for the linen cloth with which the Jerrems empire was associated.

See also:Item #514, Item #408
Item: #575, Posted: 9/1/07.
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