Thelnetham windmill, Suffolk
Joseph Hodgkinson’s 1778 map of Suffolk shows that a windmill already existed near to the site of the current windmill on common land close to Thelnetham Fen. Local records show that this was a post mill owned by William Button and that he decided to replace it with a tower mill, early in the 19th. century. Tower mills were 'new technology' and had been built elsewhere in Suffolk during the late 18th. century but not in the area on the border with Norfolk, close to Diss. The existing mill was sold, dismantled and re-erected in a field off Sandy Lane in Diss where it existed until 1902.
The diary of Thomas King, a local carpenter, records that construction of the new mill was started in 1819 and it was first set to work on Christmas Day 1819. It was built with cloth sails and continued to work in this format during the 1820’s.
The industrial revolution increased the availability of cast iron and facilitated changes to mill technology during the early 19th. century. In 1832 William Button decided to refit the mill with 'Cubitt’s Patent Sails', a cast iron windshaft and a fantail to turn the cap and sails into the wind automatically. There is evidence that the milling machinery was altered internally at this time.
The mill remained in the Button family until 1862 when it was sold to Robert Peverett, a local miller. It was subsequently sold by auction in 1884 to Henry Bryant who modernised it and by 1892 had introduced a portable steam engine driving a pair of stones on the ground floor of the mill for days when the mill was becalmed. In 1914 the steam engine was replaced by a Hornsby oil engine.
Government flour restrictions introduced in 1916 put an end to the mill’s most profitable trade and in 1920 Henry Bryant sold the mill to Alphonso Vincent, a retired millwright from neighbouring Blo Norton. He carried out some repairs to the mill which by then was down to two sails as a result of accidents and poor maintenance. By 1926 the mill had become effectively derelict.
Alphonso died in 1932 and the mill passed to his son George Vincent who moved to the mill and lived in an old lorry converted into a caravan and in the mill itself. He tried to keep the mill together but it deteriorated further from that date. On his death the mill was sold for residential purposes but not converted and in 1979 was purchased by a group of mill enthusiasts. This group commenced restoration of the mill in 1980. A new cap was fitted in 1983, followed by new sails in 1985 and the restoration was completed in 1987.
Thelnetham Windmill is now one of only four preserved tower mills in Suffolk and one of the few windmills in East Anglia in full working order.
The mill is built of red brick and its walls are 2 ft. (0.6m) thick at the ground floor and are tarred to keep out the rain. The inside walls are plastered and lime-washed. The tower is 20 ft. (6.1m) wide at its base and 12 ft. (3.7m) at the top, some 31 ft. (9.5m) above ground. The mill cap adds another 11 ft. (3.3m) to the overall height.
The traditional ‘beehive’ cap is built on a heavy oak frame and runs round an iron curb on the top of the tower and is kept central by a set of six wheels. The eight bladed fantail is mounted at the rear and rotates the cap via gearing so that the sails always face into the wind.
The four patent sails have a span of 64 ft. (19.5m) and each are 9 ft. 6 in. (2.9m) wide. Sails have two rows of 24 pivoting shutters which are connected by the striking gear and controlled from ground level by the striking chain. The shutters are opened or closed to suit the strength of the wind and the power required. A weight hung on the chain allows some self regulation in gusty conditions. The sails are mounted on a cast iron windshaft weighing nearly 2 tons and power is transmitted through the brake wheel which in turn drives a smaller iron wheel called a wallower. The brake wheel takes its name from a brake around its rim that is used to stop the mill.
The top or dust floor provides access to the cap and limited storage space. The second or bin floor is used to store grain prior to milling in either bins or sacks. The sack hoist is also on this floor and uses a layshaft driven by the main drive to lift sacks up from the ground floor though successive pairs of trap doors on each floor. Leather hinges ensure the doors snap shut after each sack has passed through.
The main work of the mill takes place on the first or stone floor. There are two pairs of French stone mill wheels of 4 ft. 7 in. (1.4m) and 4 ft. 4 in. (1.3m) in diameter respectively on this floor. Although the mill can operate the stones at speeds of 50 to 140 rpm, it is usually regulated to a maximum speed of 120 rpm. In a fresh breeze the sails are able drive both sets of stones with each pair producing up to 4 cwt (200 kg) of flour per hour.
Flour produced on the stone floor passes down to the ground or spout floor where it is bagged for sale. The miller is able to check the quality of the flour and control the stones from this floor. The stones can be lifted out of gear with the “jack ring”. Each stone nut has a pulley on top which drives the governors to control the fineness of the flour to avoid variations in the speed of the mill affecting the quality of the flour.
The windmill received Grade: II* listed building status on 27th. September 1984. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 284348).
Thelnetham windmill, Suffolk
Joseph Hodgkinson’s 1778 map of Suffolk shows that a windmill already existed near to the site of the current windmill on common land close to Thelnetham Fen. Local records show that this was a post mill owned by William Button and that he decided to replace it with a tower mill, early in the 19th. century. Tower mills were 'new technology' and had been built elsewhere in Suffolk during the late 18th. century but not in the area on the border with Norfolk, close to Diss. The existing mill was sold, dismantled and re-erected in a field off Sandy Lane in Diss where it existed until 1902.
The diary of Thomas King, a local carpenter, records that construction of the new mill was started in 1819 and it was first set to work on Christmas Day 1819. It was built with cloth sails and continued to work in this format during the 1820’s.
The industrial revolution increased the availability of cast iron and facilitated changes to mill technology during the early 19th. century. In 1832 William Button decided to refit the mill with 'Cubitt’s Patent Sails', a cast iron windshaft and a fantail to turn the cap and sails into the wind automatically. There is evidence that the milling machinery was altered internally at this time.
The mill remained in the Button family until 1862 when it was sold to Robert Peverett, a local miller. It was subsequently sold by auction in 1884 to Henry Bryant who modernised it and by 1892 had introduced a portable steam engine driving a pair of stones on the ground floor of the mill for days when the mill was becalmed. In 1914 the steam engine was replaced by a Hornsby oil engine.
Government flour restrictions introduced in 1916 put an end to the mill’s most profitable trade and in 1920 Henry Bryant sold the mill to Alphonso Vincent, a retired millwright from neighbouring Blo Norton. He carried out some repairs to the mill which by then was down to two sails as a result of accidents and poor maintenance. By 1926 the mill had become effectively derelict.
Alphonso died in 1932 and the mill passed to his son George Vincent who moved to the mill and lived in an old lorry converted into a caravan and in the mill itself. He tried to keep the mill together but it deteriorated further from that date. On his death the mill was sold for residential purposes but not converted and in 1979 was purchased by a group of mill enthusiasts. This group commenced restoration of the mill in 1980. A new cap was fitted in 1983, followed by new sails in 1985 and the restoration was completed in 1987.
Thelnetham Windmill is now one of only four preserved tower mills in Suffolk and one of the few windmills in East Anglia in full working order.
The mill is built of red brick and its walls are 2 ft. (0.6m) thick at the ground floor and are tarred to keep out the rain. The inside walls are plastered and lime-washed. The tower is 20 ft. (6.1m) wide at its base and 12 ft. (3.7m) at the top, some 31 ft. (9.5m) above ground. The mill cap adds another 11 ft. (3.3m) to the overall height.
The traditional ‘beehive’ cap is built on a heavy oak frame and runs round an iron curb on the top of the tower and is kept central by a set of six wheels. The eight bladed fantail is mounted at the rear and rotates the cap via gearing so that the sails always face into the wind.
The four patent sails have a span of 64 ft. (19.5m) and each are 9 ft. 6 in. (2.9m) wide. Sails have two rows of 24 pivoting shutters which are connected by the striking gear and controlled from ground level by the striking chain. The shutters are opened or closed to suit the strength of the wind and the power required. A weight hung on the chain allows some self regulation in gusty conditions. The sails are mounted on a cast iron windshaft weighing nearly 2 tons and power is transmitted through the brake wheel which in turn drives a smaller iron wheel called a wallower. The brake wheel takes its name from a brake around its rim that is used to stop the mill.
The top or dust floor provides access to the cap and limited storage space. The second or bin floor is used to store grain prior to milling in either bins or sacks. The sack hoist is also on this floor and uses a layshaft driven by the main drive to lift sacks up from the ground floor though successive pairs of trap doors on each floor. Leather hinges ensure the doors snap shut after each sack has passed through.
The main work of the mill takes place on the first or stone floor. There are two pairs of French stone mill wheels of 4 ft. 7 in. (1.4m) and 4 ft. 4 in. (1.3m) in diameter respectively on this floor. Although the mill can operate the stones at speeds of 50 to 140 rpm, it is usually regulated to a maximum speed of 120 rpm. In a fresh breeze the sails are able drive both sets of stones with each pair producing up to 4 cwt (200 kg) of flour per hour.
Flour produced on the stone floor passes down to the ground or spout floor where it is bagged for sale. The miller is able to check the quality of the flour and control the stones from this floor. The stones can be lifted out of gear with the “jack ring”. Each stone nut has a pulley on top which drives the governors to control the fineness of the flour to avoid variations in the speed of the mill affecting the quality of the flour.
The windmill received Grade: II* listed building status on 27th. September 1984. (English Heritage Legacy ID: 284348).