Well, having been self indulgent last week, I thought I would talk about something a little less natural history and more social history... I'm talking about the wonderful working flour mill that sits behind our house; so close in fact that you can hear the workings of the machinery and the whoosh of the sails from our kitchen. It makes giving directions easy - "...just find the mill and we are the white house in front..." is the sort of thing. As soon as I saw it and found out it was working I wanted to photograph it. Not only the mill but the people who work there; the volunteers who spend as much time as they can just keeping the thing running. "What made them tick?" I wondered. Well, only one way to find out and as luck would have it, the mill was running on the day we moved in. Our son couldn't be held back so we wandered over still with boxes to unpack and had a look. The chap we met, Dan was a friendly and helpful as you would wish and soon we were being shown over this extraordinary building by someone who just loves the place. He doesn't have to say it, just listen to the enthusiasm when he describes how it works; how much care went into that or this... This matters to him and all who work there, of that we have no doubt.
So, what is it? Following passage taken from
here
Wicken Corn Mill is a fine, large windmill with many characteristic Cambridgeshire features. The tarred tower carries the white domed cap with its vertically boarded roof. The cap carries the four large sails of 63 feet (19.2m) overall span and 9 feet (2.74m) width. The sails open to spill the wind and control the power according to Cubitt's patent of 1807. The cap and sails are turned to face the wind automatically by the blue fantail, a small wind rotor set above the rear of the cap. The mill is called a 'smock' windmill, the English term for a wooden towered mill, from the fancied similarity to an old countryman in his smock frock. Inside, the mill drove three pairs of millstones, the two larger pairs being of 4 feet 6 inches (1.37m) diameter.
After the milling operation stopped the mill became more derelict. The sails were dismantled, and later, the roof failed progressively in the 1950's and 60's. By 1971 Wicken Windmill was in a very poor state of repair. Fortunately at this stage Mr G.C. Wilson of Over Windmill fitted a temporary domed roof to Wicken Mill with the cooperation of the then owners, Mr and Mrs Johnson. This slowed the decay of the mill.
In 1987 the Wicken Windmill Preservation Group, of amateur millwrights and supporters, bought the mill to repair it to working order. This was to be a spare time project, with all repair work being done by the Group. Grants for materials were obtained from English Heritage and East Cambridgeshire District Council: the grants together with individual donations have allowed timber and metal to be purchased as the work has progressed. The repair programme has moved forward steadily: the wooden tower was strengthened and reclad, the cap was rebuilt on the ground and lifted back in place by crane. The replacement sails were fitted in 1996, and since, have been fitted with a complete set of shutters. The internal gearing has been restored and one set of stone furniture made. A small amount of meal has been produced. Currently, a 'wire machine', for dressing the meal into various grades is being made.
It looks like this...
Cap in evening light with some glow from Lightroom...
Cloud building...
Working stone with hopper...
Stones separated for maintenance...
Flour waiting for market...
Sails being painted...
...and who are the people that work here? well they look like this...
Fixing a sieve...
Painting replacement beams...
Painting sails in situ...
...scraping the rust of a gear box...
...inserting a new shoot for a potential new stone...
The wooden surround being put in place - surely a Cooper's job in the past...
...it can be a hard job, even for an octogenarian...
Once again, Dan was here the other day, moving sacks of grain about in preparation for the weekend's work. You have to admire their dedication and skill. It doesn't look easy, working a mill like this. Even though there are others scattered throughout the country, they are all done slightly differently; so even though some knowledge can be passed on, most of it is unique to the particular mill. Not only that, but other crafts have to be learnt. For example the other day I watched a couple of gentlemen building a wooden surround for one of the mill stones. This would surely have been a Cooper's job in the past. At the same time two ladies were either scraping rust from a gear box or painting the sails. The latter attached by a small harness. It seems that if you care enough for something, you can turn your hand to anything...
The picture I didn't get and one I regret (so I will get you later!) is of the man who sort of set the ball rolling restoring the mill - Dave Pearce - he was around all week and yet I didn't get round to capturing him - never mind Dave, soon eh?
So what do they do with the flour they make? Well they sell it! Yeah I know that sounds corny (groan) but the local National Trust shop sells it as do a couple of other shops in the area. You can also come along and buy it from the mill yourself - imagine that... in this age of the iPad and instant technology; of smartphones; and you can still walk up to a mill and buy freshly ground flour from a dusty miller - one may even be wearing a smock if you are lucky...
I don't know what you are waiting for... it's open this weekend... come and have a look. If I'm in I may even make you a coffee...
Of course more updates daily
here and more info about Alex JP Scott Photography...
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TTFN
