Mill news and topical information - Archive page 3

New group to the rescue of Brixton windmill

From their press release of 6/5/03:

A group of local residents has been formed to help renovate the delapidated Brixton windmill, off Brixton Hill, and its surrounding park. "The Friends of Windmill Park" was formed at a packed meeting in St.Saviour's Church hall on Tuesday [29.4.03] attended by local councillors, Lambeth Council officers and members of community and residents' associations. The group pledges to work with Lambeth Council, charities and heritage organisations to create new community facilities in the park and restore the fabric of the windmill itself.

Said local resident Steve Double, who was elected chair of the new group at the meeting, "We are determined to put the windmill and the park back to rights. For too long the park itself and the windmill have been allowed to go to rack and ruin. It is a wonderful place, full of interest for local people, schools and even tourists, and we want to turn it into a place worth visiting again, a real Brixton landmark."

The group was formed after Lambeth financed a study by consultants Planet Earth to look at how to improve the park and the windmill, and to consult local people on their views. After a series of events consulting the local community last summer, Planet Earth produced a large report suggesting a community centre, cafe, sports facilities and an outdoor performance space as well as the eventual restoration of the windmill to full working condition. This would make it the only functioning windmill in London. The windmill was built in 1816 and is a Grade 2* listed building. Although Lambeth Council has responsibility for maintaining it, it has not been able to find enough money to keep it in good repair due to the Council's difficult financial circumstances.

"The play facilities are very run down, and the old hut where park-keepers used to work has been burned down. Trees are growing out of the windmill and birds have nested inside it," says Double. "We want to turn it into an attraction again and with strong local involvement and the help of some larger funding bodies we know we can do it."

"The Friends of Windmill Park" is open to all and its next meeting will be at St.Saviour's Church hall, 24 Blenheim Gardens on Tuesday 20th May at 7pm.
Mills: [Brixton]
Item: #74, Posted: 19/5/03.

Donald W. Muggeridge Collection of Mill Photographs

Although there has been a catalogue page of the Donald W. Muggeridge Collection of Mill Photographs colour slides available for quite some while, the catalogue now includes digitized images of the slides. These are a valuable (colour) insight into how a number of mills looked through the late 1950's to the mid 1970, though as is common with transparencies of this age, deterioration of the colours is apparent.
Item: #73, Posted: 18/5/03.

National Mills Weekend reports

This last weekend, 10th-11th May was National Mills weekend, when many of the UK's mills were open to the public. Showery weather may have kept numbers of visitors down in some locations, but there was still lots going on.

A few reports from the mills are:

White Mill, Sandwich, Kent had demonstrations of lace making, spinning, working farm models, and bread making, plus a vintage car rally
The Sunday Times got in a mention of the weekend in an article on windmills for sale in the May 4th edition. The article included the windmills for sale at West Chiltington, Sussex; Horning, Norfolk; Grantham, Lincolnshire; Kirkham, nr Blackpool. It also covered the mills at Edenbridge, Kent; and Fishlake, South Yorkshire (neither currently for sale), and included a photo of Ibstone windmill (star of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) just for luck. A sidebar of mill facts had a strange collection of info, mentioning Outwood, Shipley, and Ibstone windmills, Mills Weekend and the SPAB, a book on Yorkshire windmills, plus a link to this site.
Mills on the Air once again linked up a number of mills via amateur radio.

Update: More reports:

Pann Mill, High Wycombe was open, and will open 3 times this year.
The Times on 10th May had an article profiling Matt Bowman, miller at Venn watermill, Wantage, Oxfordshire. It details how Matt bought the mill to allow him to expand his milling business, which was being run from a leased watermill at Newbridge, IOW. Recent renovations mean that the waterwheel is once again driving the millstones, which produce a wide range of stoneground flours. The mill is open on at least one day a month year round.
Mills across Norfolk were mentioned in the EDP roundup, which listed 15 Norfolk mills open for the weekend, and their opening times for the rest of the year.

Mills: [Sandwich]
Item: #72, Posted: 12/5/03.

Maltese windmill handed over to local council for preservation

The Ghadiriet il-Bordi windmill in Tal-Mirakli in Lija has been handed over from the Government to the Lija local council. The mill was restored and rebuilt 11 years ago, from a derelict state. The local council will preserve it, by using it for cultural and social activities.
Item: #71, Posted: 25/4/03.

Foxton windmill, New Zealand, holds opening ceremony

The windmill at Foxton, New Zealand, held its grand opening on 13th April, 2003. This Dutch style smock mill, has been constructed from scratch over the past 12 years, at a cost of NZ$850,000.
Item: #70, Posted: 25/4/03.

Remains found of Japanese windmill destroyed in 1923 earthquake

The foundations of a water pumping windmill have been found at a site that until the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake was the French Consulate in Minato-no-Mieruoka Park, Naka Ward, Yokohama.

4 red brick piers 1.3 metres tall by 1.2m wide were found at the site of the well last December, and research in French government archives has uncovered a record of having spent $1529.81 in 1896 on the well, windmill, and water pumping facility.

2 piers will be preserved as a feature in the redevelopment of the park, and there are plans to build a replica windmill.

There were once 3 windmills in the area - with the other 2 sites being in Ferris Seminary (of which a photo survives in the Yokohama archives), and in Yokohama Futaba Gakuen school.
Item: #69, Posted: 22/4/03.

Wind turbine to power London home

Donnachadh McCarthy, a Southwark councillor, has been granted planning permission to set up a mini wind turbine to augment the solar panels already installed on his Coleman Road, Camberwell home. The installations are grid-connected, and any excess power is sold to London Electricity.
Item: #68, Posted: 12/4/03.

Watermill in Lexington, North Carolina, collapses

The watermill at Old Mill Farm, Reedy Creek, Davidson County, on the Yadkin River has partially collapsed into the river.

The mill, historically called Eureka Mills, was in existence in the 1840s, and from the 1880s to the 1930s whilst still being used for grinding, also served as a community center. After a variety of owners, the mill passed to the present owner Bert Clapp, who made some efforts to preserve the mill. In 1984 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Item: #67, Posted: 12/4/03.

Billingford mill, Norfolk, may be open for Easter

After a troubled period concerning the windmill's lease (centering round a dispute over who would maintain the mill) Linda Joslin, the custodian since March 2001 at Billingford mill, Norfolk, hopes to open the mill for Easter. Norfolk Council who own the mill have apologized for some mis-management concerning the negotiations over the mill, and the cottage where Linda lives. The mill has been kept locked shut for 6 months, whilst the dispute was settled.
Mills: [Billingford]
Item: #66, Posted: 7/4/03.

UK magazine cover photos

The April edition of Hertfordshire Life magazine carries a photo of Redbournbury watermill.

The April 3rd edition of Country Life carries a photo which is identified merely as "Converted Norfolk Watermill".
Item: #65, Posted: 7/4/03.

New York windmill logo not popular with t-shirt designers!

The corporate seal of New York City shows an eagle, windmill sails, an American Indian, a sailor and two beavers, and has been in use since 1686. In an announcement including the quote that this emblem has never been popular with t-shared designers, city officials are considering the creation of a trademarked "NYC" logo as part of a new marketing plan aimed at raising cash to plug the city's growing budget gap.
Item: #64, Posted: 4/4/03.

Improved designs of mills

For centuries windmills and watermills have been built to a flawed design which makes them vulnerable to running out or water or of wind. There are however a number of improved mills designs available - I wonder why these have never been very popular?
Item: #63, Posted: 1st April 2003.

Polkey's Mill at Reedham gets new lease of life

Millwright Vincent Pargeter has started £150,000 worth of work to restore Polkey's Mill, Reedham as the first part of the Norfolk Windmills Trust's Land of Windmills Project.

The mill dates from the 1860s, and could pump 40 tons of water a minute. A extra steam pump was installed in the 1880s, and in the 1940s two diesel pumps made both older pumps redundant. The windmill, diesel and later electric pumps will be restored to working order, and an interpretation centre put in the steam pump house. New river moorings close by will encourage visitors.

The full project will also see Cadge's Mill and North Mill on the Reedham marshes, and Ashtree Farm Mill near Acle restored.
Mills: [Reedham Marshes]
Item: #62, Posted: 27/3/03.

Stafford medieval mill to be preserved

The remains of a medieval watermill in Millbank, Stafford are to be preserved. The remains thought to date from the 14th or 15th centuries were uncovered whilst digging a trench as part of a £3.6 river improvement scheme on the River Sow.

The site was a known 19th century mill, but a 17th century wall and the earlier timbers were uncovered by Jackson Civil Engineering. An alternative route for the pipe is now planned, and the original trench carefully backfilled after archaeological recording and tree ring samples will be taken.

Update: An earlier report from the BBC had a few more details: The site is at the junction of Tenterbanks and Mill Bank with Water Street. Its been worked on by a team from Birmingham University's Field Archaeology Unit. Diagonal tooling on a sandstone wall suggested it belonged to a 17th century watermill. Research has shown that in 1086, the canons of Stafford had a mill, but it is not clear that it was in the town.
Item: #61, Posted: 27/3/03.

Titanic plans will transform old mill in Kirklees

Developers Lowry Homes and Property Renaissance will next month begin work on The Titanic textile mill in Kirklees to convert it into 125 flats, a gym and a restaurant. The listed building has been empty and derelict since 1991, and several proposed projects such as a sports centre failed.

There is an online forum so you can express your views about the increasing trend towards converting disused mills into apartments.
Item: #60, Posted: 27/3/03.

Glusburn Corn Mill housing conversion

Glusburn Corn Mill, South Craven, Bradford, has been granted planning permission for converting the three storey mill building into four residential units, a small ancillary building into a single unit; and constructing 11 new homes on the site. One of the conditions of planning permission is an archaeological and historical survey of the site.
Item: #59, Posted: 27/3/03.

Much Wenlock receives a Parish Pump Priming award

Much Wenlock Windmill Preservation Trust received a Parish Pump Priming Award of £500 from The Conservation Foundation on 7th February 2003.

The mill dating from the 18th Century is leased to the Trust for 99 years. English Heritage have just produced a structural engineer's report which is the first stage in its restoration, either as a full working model or as a platform to give access to wide-ranging views of the Shropshire countryside.
Mills: [Much Wenlock]
Item: #58, Posted: 25/3/03.

Parbold's windmill housing a curtain shop

Curtain Call is a curtain shop based in the old windmill at Parbold, Lancashire, serving customers in the North West. The shop owner Marie Kendall notes that "The building felt right as soon as I saw it, having all these windows all the way round to be able to hang the curtains from".

The windmill also houses the Mill House Gallery, with its continually changing exhibits of paintings, sculpture and ceramics for sale, plus the studios of landscape/wildlife artist, James Bartholomew and portrait painter, Alastair C. Adams.
Mills: [Parbold]
Item: #57, Posted: 23/3/03.

BBC's Restoration program resembles Big Brother

More details are available about the upcoming Restoration series of 10 programmes on BBC2.

The programme will run as a viewer vote, the winning structure out of 30 offered will receive the restoration money. The structures include Clevedon pier, a Scottish folly, the Art Nouveau Victoria Baths in Manchester, as well as Moulton windmill - the cheapest project, requiring £500,000.

Celebrities including Richard E Grant, Fiona Bruce and Robert Hardy will champion their favourite buildings in a similar way to the BBC2 series Great Britons. The voting telephone line used by the audience will raise funds for the winning building, and the organisers said they were optimistic that, with the help of matching funding from bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, enough would be raised to help even the costliest project. An appeal will encourage public donations.
Mills: [Moulton]
Item: #56, Posted: 22/3/03.

Hatfield miller's will from 1600s

The 3 page will of Thomas Rawson, miller at Mill Green near Hatfield, has been tracked down at the Public Records Office in Kew.

Made in 1601 or 2, it leaves most of his property, including substantial amounts of land in Hatfield, to his wife Jane. Mention is made of various houses and barns in Hatfield and a field at an unidentified Rustes Lane.

The miller's wife is trusted to look after most of the property for their six sons, who each inherited directly a lamb, a ewe and a pair of sheep.

The current mill was built in 1762, but on a Domesday site.
Item: #55, Posted: 22/3/03.

Generations of millers at Mildenham

This article published on 18th Jan 2003, relates the story of generations of millers at Mildenham Mill.

It starts with the last miller, Denis Watts, who retired in 1972, going back to his maternal grandfather, Henry Bill, miller in 1870. Other mills that the family worked include Belbroughton near Kidderminster, Rindleford Mill at Bridgnorth, and Porters Mill near Fernhill Heath.

There is also a link with the Danzey Green windmill at Avoncroft, where Max Sinclair was miller from 1980-1995, since he was part of the team who restored Mildenham Mill in the 1960s.
Mills: [Tanworth]
Item: #54, Posted: 20/3/03.

Civic Trust special award shortlist

Heage windmill, Derbyshire has been shortlisted by the Civic Trust for the Partnership Award, sponsored by English Partnerships.

This award is given to a regeneration or development project involving a partnership between the private, public and community sectors in England.
Mills: [Heage]
Item: #53, Posted: 20/3/03.

Flood control measures at Willsbridge Mill near Keynsham

New flood control measures will be installed at Willsbridge Mill near Keynsham. These are to stop the serious flooding that the mill and surrounding nature reserve, run by Avon Wildlife Trust, have suffered in the past.
Item: #52, Posted: 18/3/03.

Cover photo of Blue Mills, Wickham Bishops, Essex

The March 2003 edition of Essex Magazine features a photo by Ron Gregory of Blue Mills, Wickham Bishops.
Item: #51, Posted: 16/3/03.

Congleton mill set for conversion despite objections

Planners have agreed that Park Mill, Congleton can be converted into 2 four-bed houses by the developers Prospection Ltd.

Park Mill built in 1833, is the only surviving complete corn mill from the designs of the leading British engineer Sir William Fairbairn. The North West Mills Group objected to redevelopment, saying "The fact that this mill survives with its interior fittings intact makes it special and worthy of preservation, a fact acknowledged by its Grade II Listing. Taking away some of these destroys this completeness and thereby devalues it as a significant historical survival."

The Developers counter that they think conversion is the only viable option for the mill, and carried out archaeological studies to determine what machinery must remain within the mill even after redevelopment. English Heritage does not oppose the plans which now include the recording, restoration, conservation and preservation of all machinery contained in the mill.
Item: #50, Posted: 14/3/03.

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