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Mill news and topical information - Archive page 7

watermills Woodbridge tide mill considering Lottery bid

The quay area at Woodbridge has recently been granted £83,000 of Lottery funding, and the Tide Mill Trust is considering placing an application for the tide mill itself.

Preliminary work is under way, but the Trust still need to locate a team of interested (and enthusiastic) volunteers to drive the process forward. Anyone who would like to help is asked to contact Fred Reynolds of the trustees, on 01394 385775.

The Tide Mill last worked commercially in 1957, but is believed to date from 1170.
Mills: [Woodbridge]
Item: #174, Posted: 15/12/03.

energy Windturbines for the World Trade Center site

The 1,776-foot Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site in New York will be topped by environmentally friendly wind turbines. Although the plans will not be unveiled until next week, the turbines would appear to be instead of the initially proposed "gardens in the sky". The design is a collaboration between Daniel Libeskind, whose plan won out in the redevelopment contest, and David Childs, the chief architect employed by Larry Silverstein who has the lease on the site.

Update: The design was indeed unveiled in a big press conference on 19th December in New York. The write up by Felix Salmon has the best pictures of the design I've seen, including the lattice work, and the wind turbines.
Item: #173, Posted: 11/12/03.

mills Mills of Middle Earth

As the third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Return of the King, opens around the world, there's a huge amount of media coverage of all things Tolkien. Some of the limelight falls on Tolkien's childhood home of Sarehole, which provided the inspiration behind The Shire of the books. Sarehole mill was a favorite haunt of Tolkien, and gets a part as the Great Mill in The Hobbit, and is also mentioned in Tolkien's own foreword to the 1966 revised edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, showed both water and wind mills in its views of The Shire.

Update: There's an image of the water mill from the film available.
Item: #172, Posted: 7/12/03.

watermills Hornby trains introduce watermill model

Within their Skaledale range of typical British village buildings produced at 00 scale, Hornby Trains have introduced a model called Hubbards Hills watermill. This model shows a two storey corn mill, with a largely unspecified type of external waterwheel - so lacking somewhat in realism, but maybe a reasonable way to add a watermill model to a model train layout.
Item: #171, Posted: 7/12/03.

windmills Worst storm in British History - November 26th 1703

Three hundred years to the day before the recent storm which destroyed Chillenden windmill, an even more damaging storm occurred, in which 8000 people were killed in Britain and in the surrounding seas. Daniel Defoe wrote about the storm, describing amongst other items windmills which caught fire due to the friction when the wind tried to turn the sails against the brake. Defoe's The Storm has been reissued by Penguin Classics in an new edition edited by Richard Hamblyn, and another very readable account of the destruction is The Greatest Storm by Martin Brayne.
Item: #170, Posted: 6/12/03.

windmills Chillenden windmill destroyed in storm

The fine post mill at Chillenden, Kent, has been destroyed in the storms which battered the South East of England during the night of 25/26th November 2003. The BBC covered this, and there are more pictures of the ruins at The Mills Archive.

Update: The remains have retrieved for storage at a millwrights yard. There is hope that the mill may be rebuilt from the remains in the future.

Update: Another mention in A Kentish Journey, and a short report from Meridian TV.
Mills: [Chillenden]
Item: #169, Posted: 4/12/03.

energy Windfarms - eyesore or beautiful landscape features?

Country Life readers nominated the worst blots on the British landscape to include wind farms, power stations, electricity pylons and motorways. However, Germaine Greer argues that such views are irrational, and often hypocritical. In defence of wind farms, Germaine points out that the same smock and tower mills that are now such beautiful landscape features were once seen as grotesque clattering and creaking machines by objectors. She does however wonder why turbines are painted white - as if they are kin to washing machines and fridges.
Item: #168, Posted: 4/12/03.

energy Wind turbine installed on South Bank for Shell Electric Storm

London's South Bank has become the site for a 43 metre wind turbine, in order to power a sound and light installation called Shell Electric Storm.

Update: I've put together an illustrated page to cover the Electric Storm installation in much greater detail.
Item: #167, Posted: 18/11/03.

energy Earth from Above - Middelgrunden Offshore wind farm

The free open air exhibition of (huge) photos entitled Earth from the Air in the gardens of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, has been extended through to Spring 2004.

Amongst the hundred plus photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, all taken from an aerial perspective, is one showing the 20 windturbines arranged in a crescent that make up the Middelgrunden offshore wind farm, near Copenhagen, Denmark. The image also appears in a tactile form, for blind and partially sighted visitors.
Item: #166, Posted: 16/11/03.

windmills Kenn windmill remains demolished

The ruinous tower of Kenn windmill, Somerset, which included its 1821 datestone have been recently demolished - apparently this was to "consolidate the structure". Since the building was not listed, it's difficult to fight such destruction.
Mills: [Kenn]
Item: #165, Posted: 16/11/03.

watermills Tully Mill, Northern Ireland wins Pride of Place award

The Killesher Community Development Association has won a Co-operation Ireland Pride of Place award in the small towns and villages category for its contribution to the restoration of the Tully Mill and Larganess complex.

The mill, a water-powered corn mill, has been renovated to include a bar, restaurant, self-catering three-star accommodation, and children's playgroups.
Item: #164, Posted: 7/11/03.

windmills Windmills and fireworks

As a seasonal theme, I've come across some photos of windmills and fireworks:
Mills: [Lytham]
Item: #163, Posted: 5/11/03.

windmills An appreciation of David Harrison - father of Flowerdew Hundred windmill

David Harrison owned a farm in the state of Virgina, USA, whose history stretched back to Colonial times, and beyond to Native American settlements. For many years he proudly showed where the colonial windmill once stood, and in 1978 through his vision, a replica mill was built in the same location. He died in June 2003.

The University of Virginia, which he graduated from, has published an appreciation of his life.
Item: #162, Posted: 4/11/03.

watermills Houghton mill book fair

Houghton Mill, Cambridgeshire, a National Trust property, held a book fair over the weekend 1st-2nd November. The sale of donated books attracted about 100 people, and was deemed very successful. The mill is now closed for the winter, reopening in March.
Item: #161, Posted: 3/11/03.

windmills Sibsey Trader mill photo in British Farming contest

c/o British Farming has announced the winners in its photographic competition to capture Britain's most picturesque farms on film.

The second place overall was awarded to a photo of Sibsey Trader windmill, framed by a field of wheat.
Mills: [Sibsey]
Item: #160, Posted: 3/11/03.

watermills 25 years of Broadland District Council's Enhancement Awards

The Broadland District Council's Enhancement Awards are designed to support and reward the dedicated work of Norfolk's renovators. Over the past 25 years, a number of mills have won awards, including Lenwade Mill in 2001 for its conversion from a derelict state (on the Buildings at Risk list) into luxury flats, but thankfully preserving the mill workings.

A photographic exhibition of past winners is being staged, which also includes Honingham Mill and Buxton Mill.
Item: #159, Posted: 3/11/03.

windmills Living in an (unidentified) windmill

"Tranquil home is grist to the mill" is an article describing some of the joys and problems of living in a converted windmill. Unfortunately it fails to mention where that windmill may be!

One of the joys mentioned is the sense of discovery as you move up through each of the 5 floors of the mill, and the view from the top floor is stunning. On the other hand, choosing furniture to fit the round rooms causes problems.
Item: #158, Posted: 3/11/03.

windmills Childrens BBC poll - where would you like to live?

There is an online poll being run by Childrens BBC Newsround, entitled Where would you most like to live?. The alternatives are (in descending order of popularity at the time I checked): a mansion (42%), a castle (30%), a space station (5%), a lighthouse (4%), a cowboy ranch (4%), on top of a mountain (4%), a windmill (3%), a caravan (2.5%), an igloo (2%), a garden shed (1.5%), a tent (1%)
Item: #157, Posted: 2/11/03.

mills The Newcomen Society - Transactions index for mills

The Transactions of the Newcomen Society have been used to publish many important research papers on mills over the years, in particular by Rex Wailes, who was President of the Society 1953-55. A Mills and Millworking index is now available to aid finding these papers, and there are plans to make the papers themselves available online.
Item: #156, Posted: 29/10/03.

mills British Pathe News archive now has still images

The British Pathe News archive has been online for a while now, but they have just recently made available version 2 of the site, which now offers captured stills from the films. The site includes all 3500 hours of 35mm film contained in the archive.

Major features on mills include the following:
Item: #155, Posted: 28/10/03.

windmills Planning application to house convert Galmpton windmill, Devon

The listed stone windmill tower at Galmpton, Devon is currently subject to planning application 03/1678/LB. These plans are for a modern themed conversion, with a part glazed viewing turret and a decked balcony at first floor level. There is strong local opposition to the plans, since they are seen to be losing much of the historical value of the tower, which despite its current derelict state, is a prominent local monument.
Mills: [Galmpton]
Item: #154, Posted: 27/10/03.

mills A round up of online books

Following up on my two recent items on The Canterbury Tales, and on searchable books at Amazon.com, there are a number of other mill related books available in various forms on the web.

Factual Fiction
See also:Item #144, Item #145
Item: #153, Posted: 27/10/03.

watermills Tony Crosland, (politician) and Adderbury mill

In a interview Susan Crosland, widow of the Labour foreign secretary, Antony Crosland (1918 - 1977), recalls Adderbury mill, Oxfordshire, which the couple had purchased as a country cottage, and used for rare free weekends.
Item: #152, Posted: 26/10/03.

windmills Windmill paper model

Since I'm often asked for "plans to build a windmill" where a model is quite sufficient, I've just come across a new example Dutch windmill cutout model available for download in A4 and American paper sizes.
Item: #151, Posted: 26/10/03.

mills Ben Hassett - millwright at Stratford Hall Plantation, USA

Stratford Hall Plantation gristmill has just been rebuilt as the first solo project by Ben Hassett a keen 26 year old millwright working in the USA.

As a jobbing carpenter, the work was often repetitive, but a visit to the Alcorn windmill, Iowa, suggested a new direction. After contacting Derek Ogden who was millwright on that mill, his advice was the less than welcoming "there is no money in millwrighting". After dogged persistence, Ben persuaded Derek to take him on as an apprentice in 1997, initially for just 1 year.

In 2001 Ben started out on his own, and the 17 month rebuild of Stratford Hall Plantation was his first major work. His craftmanship is beyond doubt, though he admits his business acumen could do with more attention. The next job lined up for him is a 2 year rebuild of Flourdew Hundred Plantation windmill.
Item: #150, Posted: 26/10/03.
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