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The East Anglian Mills SocietyA Brighter future for our regions windmills?
TEAMS stands for 'The East Anglian Mills Society' and was formed during 2008 following a series of meetings between like minded mill owners and enthusiasts in East Anglia.
The aims of TEAMS are simply to share information, expertise and experience in maintaining, preserving and restoring our windmills.
Windmills were once the focal point in every community providing employment and producing flour, notwithstanding the visual aesthetic they exude. Throughout the 20th Century windmills became disused and were replaced by more efficient ways of flour production. By the Second World War most windmills were decommissioned and demolished for scrap material.
Thankfully a few special mills have survived the decades, largely through a sustained dose of TLC from their owners and major support from organisations like the Society for The Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), English Heritage, The National Trust, Cambridge Preservation Society, the Heritage Lottery Fund and mill groups that exist in many counties.
TEAMS is independent and amongst its associate members are the mill owners of the following mills (with opening times during National Mills Weekend (Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 May):
- Impington mill, Cambridgeshire (Saturday & Sunday May 10am - 4pm - 07967 461933)
- Haddenham Great Mill, Cambridgeshire (Saturday & Sunday 11am - 5pm - 01353 749667)
- Wicken smock mill, Cambridgeshire - a working windmill (Saturday & Sunday 10am - 5.30pm - 02476 183524)
- Over tower mill, Cambridgeshire - a working windmill (NB this mill is not open to the public)
- Swaffham Prior tower mill, Cambridgeshire - a working windmill (Sunday 1 - 5pm - 01638 741009)
- Willingham – Cattell's Mill, Cambridgeshire (Saturday & Sunday 11am - 4pm - 01954 261168)
- Bourn post mill, Cambridgeshire (Sunday 2 - 4.30pm - 01223 243830)
- Hinxton watermill, Cambridgeshire (Sunday 2.30 - 5.30pm - 01223 243830)
- Stanton post mill, Suffolk - a working windmill (Saturday & Sunday 12pm - 6pm - 01359 250622)
- Thurne Dyke, Morse's Windpump, Norfolk - a working windpump and the most beautiful on the Norfolk Broads (Sunday 2 - 7pm, with Songs of Praise 'amateurs' from 4.30pm plus the Norfolk Concert Band. 01692 672155)
- Repps, near Potter Heigham, Norfolk - Morse's Wind Engine Park (Saturday 10am - 4pm - 01692 672155)
Over the course of the next few months there will be organized and supervised work-ins to carry out ongoing repairs, culminating in a coordinated open day at the mills during National Mills Weekend.
We are actively encouraging people to get involved - young, old, skilled or unskilled. A website is being built to promote TEAMS' mills and the tasks that lie ahead.
For more information on TEAMS please contact Bob Paterson on windmillbob@hotmail.com or visit the website www.millsofeastanglia.org.uk which will be launched in late April.
Windmills visible in StreetView UK
xkcd wind turbine comic
An unusual view of Wimbledon Windmill Developments at Cann MillsMichael Stoate, a fifth generation miller milling at a 1000 year old mill site, recently had a difficult decision to make, concerning the quirky windmill his father had constructed in 1970 on the flat roof of the family watermill at Cann, Dorset.
The reduced scale windmill, to a Portuguese design, had deteriorated, with the tower developing structural cracks caused by the vibration of the machinery, and the cap and sail poles needed replacing. Its location, in a valley, was far from the ideal location for a windmill, so it was more of a hobby than a serious source of power to the business, and its presence on the flat roof compounded many of the problems that flat roofs often have.
Thus with a great deal of regret he took the decision to dismantle the windmill, and in its place to build an apex roof to ensure a watertight mill below, housing the successful artisan business which is producing stoneground flour in the traditional way utilising the power from the river Sturkel.
The mechanism of the windmill has been retained on site, and efforts are underway to see if a new home can be found to give this a new lease of life. This windmill is unique - not only for its design, but also because the original construction documents are still available, since they have been deposited with the Mills Archive.
Third "erect a windpump weekend" at Morse's Wind Engine Park, ReppsFollowing the success story of the last two years, Morse's Wind Engine Park is now holding its third "erect a windpump weekend".
Last June numbers increased to 18 really keen and enthusiastic people who met up in the sleepy village of Repps, Norfolk. They continued the work that had been started in 2007 and completed the task of re-erecting the F Littlewood and Sons Windpump. F Littlewood and Sons were based in the Swale Iron Works at Milton Regis in Kent and was typical of the small engineering companies who built the early wind engines. The little windpump above was built in approximately 1890 and spent its working life supplying water to cattle troughs near the river Thames at Iwade in Kent.
The format for the weekend will be varied and hopefully offer something for everyone. This year they hope to concentrate on the restoration of their 2 John Wallis Titt wind engines. Only 3 of these wind engines are left - a six sided complete restoration at Crux Easton in Hampshire and the two at MWEP.
There will be painting, woodwork, metalwork, sowing, gardening and much more. Food will be plentiful as they intend to supply bacon rolls for breakfast, sandwiches/salads and picks for lunch and a BBQ with a glass or two of wine or beer in the evening.
For those wishing to stay for the whole weekend, there is a very nice camp site next door offering full toilet and shower facilities. It caters for caravans and tents, has electric hook-ups and gas re-fills. Locally there are a number of bed & breakfast options - If you are interested and wish to book a place, or if you just want some more information please contact:
Debra Nicholson 01692 672155 or 07796 407864
debra@windengines.co.uk
Morse's Wind Engine Park
Marsh View
Staithe Road
Repps
Norfolk NR29 5JU
North Leverton Windmill Trust What fate for the anachronistic Robertson's windmill?The Robertson's windmill in Colonial Williamsburg is quietly regarded as a bit of an anachronism. The tourist attraction aims to recreate the area as it was in the 1770s, but new research suggests that by that date, the original windmill had disappeared. A windmill existed in the area in 1723, but its exact location has never been pinpointed, and the views of the 1956 report which preceeded the replica windmill's construction have been revised by later research.
The windmill has not been operational for 10 years, and has not been a featured element in ads over the past nine - being closed to visitors since 2002. An estimate of $500,000 has been mentioned to return the mill to working order, but it appears that even removal of the exhibit is being considered.
Vertical axis windmills in Iran
Burbo Bank windfarm near LiverpoolThe pictures, numbers 1 and 14, show the tall ships which visited Liverpool in July 2008 passing the turbines, though the whole sequence of photos is well worth viewing to see that "other" use of windpower - for driving sailing ships.
A new windmill for Jonathan CreekBBC1 broadcast a new Jonathan Creek mystery on New Years Day 2009, in which he was accompanied by a new sidekick. In addition, his windmill home, (long filmed at Shipley windmill, Sussex), was mentioned in the dialog a couple of times. However, the windmill that they showed (in a long shot only) was the windmill at Ibstone.
Ibstone windmill (familiar as the mill in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) is located on the hillside above the village of Turville - and I guess that since Turville is a regular BBC filming location (The Vicar of Dibley is filmed there for example) it made economic and logistical sense to make the switch.
A Matter of Loaf and DeathThe latest Wallace and Gromit animation, called "A Matter of Loaf and Death", aired on BBC1 on Christmas Day to an audience estimated at 14.4 million.
Originally announced under the title "Trouble at Mill", the show has the title duo running the "Top Bun" bakery, with the flour being produced by a smock windmill built above the residence they have long occupied at 62 West Wallaby Street. The plot involves the mysterious deaths of a (baker's) dozen bakers - of which Wallace is the last in line.
More details on the whole film at A Matter of Loaf and Death.
Fall colours at Berry MillThe fall colours in this picture caught my eye - (ok, and maybe the name of the mill!). The mill illustrated, on the campus of Berry College, Georgia, has a 42 feet diameter wooden waterwheel, and was constructed in 1930, reusing parts from an earlier water driven factory.
More details on the Berry College website, which includes a photo of the dedication stone to the memory of M Gordon Keown, who with the help and encouragement of Henry Ford was instrumental in getting the mill built.
Maud Foster loses a sail in high windsOver the weekend of 8-9th November, strong winds occurred, and unfortunately one of the sails at Maud Foster windmill in Boston was blown off, and fell through the roof of a neighbouring building.
Maud Foster is a working mill, with 5 sails which normally give it more power than a 4 sailed mill, but the loss of one sail shows the shortcomings - until it is replaced the mill cannot work by wind since the remaining sails are out of balance.
Mill Writing blog from the Friends of the Mills ArchiveThere are various aspects to the Mills Archive, including
They have recently added a new section, the Mill Writing blog.
In its own words:
This is a public forum for you to express your views on mills and milling. If you would like to submit a short article on a new topic, email us at blog@millsarchivetrust.org. Why not start by reading what other people have to say and adding a comment? Topics are not confined to Archive matters!
360 Cities - impressive panoramicsAnother offering is from 360 Cities, that has much higher quality panoramics.
These include the following mills: StreetView images come to Paris Invention of the windmillThe windmill was invented for the sole purpose of filling up the blank bits in the back of 16th-century Flemish paintings.It's a common anecdote, surfacing again because a collection of his writings has just been published, but it's best related by Sandy Toksvig, whose definition on Call My Bluff it was a response to.
New website for Daniels Mill, Bridgnorth, Shropshire Shirley windmill damaged by parakeets Friends of Norfolk Mills talk by Luke Bonwick StreetView in Australia New sails for Upminster mill Aerial photos of Jack and JillThe Southern Counties Radio-control Aerial Photographers (SCRAPs) had a group aerial photography meeting at Jack and Jill mills, Clayton on Sunday 27th July.
There's a general write up of the day at RCGroups, which includes some spectacular shots (scroll down the page to the bottom). The main target of the day was Jill mill, but don't miss the attachment, which gives pride of place to Jack.
There are more photos at
Note also an aerial shot of Shipley windmill earlier in the portfolio. StreetView comes to JapanGoogle have just introduced StreetView for Japan, which gives their mapping offerings of Google Maps and Google Earth photo representations of views along the streets.
Thus we can now see this typically Dutch looking scene, of polders, bikes, and a windmill at Sakura near Tokyo.
| Last updated 07/06/2009 | Text and images © Mark Berry, 1997-2009 - |