Webster's Mill, Framsden

Last updated
Webster’s Mill, Framsden
Framsden Windmill.jpg
Framsden Mill in 2006
Origin
Grid reference TM 1917 5976
Coordinates 52°11′33″N1°12′19″E / 52.1924°N 1.2053°E / 52.1924; 1.2053 Coordinates: 52°11′33″N1°12′19″E / 52.1924°N 1.2053°E / 52.1924; 1.2053
Year built1760
Information
PurposeCorn mill
Type Post mill
Roundhouse storeysTwo storey roundhouse
No. of sailsFour
Type of sails Patent sails
Winding Fantail
No. of pairs of millstonesTwo pairs
Size of millstones4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) and 4 feet (1.22 m)

Framsden Windmill is a Grade II* listed [1] post mill at Framsden, Suffolk, England which is preserved. The mill was known as Webster's Mill when it was a working mill.

Listed building Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

Post mill earliest type of European windmill

The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind.

Framsden village in the United Kingdom

Framsden is a village and civil parish located around 10 miles (16 km) north of Ipswich and 3 miles (5 km) south of the small market town of Debenham in the English county of Suffolk. The total population of Framsden in the census of 2001 was 299, with 125 households, 52 people under 16 years, 201 of working age and 46 over 65 years, increasing to a population of 357 in 137 households at the 2011 Census.

Contents

History

Framsden Windmill was built in 1760 for John Flick. In 1836, the mill was bought by John Smith, a brickmaker from St Osyth, Essex. Smith had the mill raised by 18 feet (5.49 m) and modernised by John Whitmore and Son, millwrights, of Wickham Market. In 1843, the mill was bought by William Bond, who owned the mill until 1872 (and worked it for at least part of that time), when it was sold to Joseph Rivers. In 1879, the mill was sold to Edmund Webster, who had been listed as a miller at the mill in 1854, and later passed to his son Edmund Samuel Webster, [2] who worked the mill until ca. 1936. In June 1966 a group of volunteers started to restore the mill. [3] Two new Patent sails were fitted in 1969. [4]

St Osyth village and civil parish in northeast Essex

St Osyth is an English village and civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Clacton-on-Sea and about 12 miles (19.3 km) south-east of Colchester. It is located on the B1027 road. The village is named after Osgyth, a 7th-century saint and princess. Locally, the name is sometimes pronounced "Toosey". St Osyth is claimed to be the driest recorded place in the United Kingdom.

Essex County of England

Essex is a county in the south-east of England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. For government statistical purposes Essex is placed in the East of England region.

A millwright is a high-precision craftsman or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites.

Restoration

Restoration of Framsden Windmill commenced in June 1966. A stock had broken and half a sail had fallen shortly before, so the remaining half sail and its partner were removed, along with the stock. The roof was made watertight and the left side bottom side rail was strengthened. This work was carried out by Frank Farrow, Stanley Freese, Christopher Hullcoop, Vincent Pargeter and Peter Stenning. In 1967, the main post was strengthened with iron bars and steel hoops as it was badly split. The mill was at that time head-sick, and leant to the right. This was attended to, and the mill put back on an even keel. The right hand side girt was found to have broken at the joint with the crown tree. It was reinforced with a heavy angle iron bolted on top. In 1968, the two remaining sails were lowered for repair and the stock was reinforced by fitting a pair of clamps. In 1969, the Brake Wheel was repaired, with two new elm segments being made and fitted. The repaired sails were refitted in March and July. The striking gear was repaired, with the cross from Victoria Mill, Eye replacing that broken when the sail fell. On 7 February 1970, the mill turned by wind again. A lightning conductor was fitted and the Brake Wheel was re-cogged with hornbeam. The Brake Wheel originally had 61 cogs, and was refitted with 78 cogs when the mill was modernised. In 1971, work was done to get the left-hand pair of millstones into working order and repair the fantail carriage. In May 1972, the mill ground wheat for the first time in preservation. The rear steps were repaired and the fantail carriage fitted in 1973. [3]

Elm genus of plants

Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The genus first appeared in the Miocene geological period about 20 million years ago, originating in what is now central Asia. These trees flourished and spread over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, presently ranging southward across the Equator into Indonesia.

Eye, Suffolk town

Eye is a small market town in the north of the English county of Suffolk. The town is around 4 miles (6 km) south of Diss, 17 1⁄2 miles (28 km) north of Ipswich and 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Norwich. It lies close to the River Waveney which forms the border with Norfolk and is on the River Dove. Eye is twinned with the town of Pouzauges in the Vendée department of France.

Hornbeam genus of plants

Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus Carpinus in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Description

Framsden Windmill was built as an open trestle post mill with Common sails and winded by a tailpole. The two pairs of millstones were arranged Head and Tail, each driven by a compass arm wheel. [2] A roundhouse was added in 1836 and a fantail was added. At this time, the wooden windshaft was replaced by a cast iron one and Patent sails were added. [4] The compass-arm Brake Wheel was converted to clasp-arm construction. [3] The mill drives two pairs of French Burr millstones in the breast of the mill, [2] the left hand pair are 4 feet (1.22 m) diameter and the right hand pair are 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) diameter. Unusually, the Upright Shaft is offset. The millstones are geared at 7.8:1. The rear of the mill has been extended to accommodate a flour dresser. The Patent sails have a weather of 25˚ at the heel and 5˚ at the tip. The frame of the mill was built of oak, with pitch pine being introduced for the Sprattle Beam and Tail beam when the mill was modernised. [3] The mill is 48 feet (14.63 m) to the roof, making it the second tallest post mill in Suffolk. [4] The sails were 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) wide with a span of 64 feet (19.51 m). [3]

Trestle (mill)

The Trestle of a Post mill is the arrangement of the Main post, crosstrees and quarterbars that form the substructure of this type of windmill. It may or may not be surrounded by a roundhouse. Post mills without a roundhouse are known as Open Trestle Post Mills.

Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.

Windmill fantail

A fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and perfected on mills around Leeds and Hull towards the end of the 18th century. Fantails are found on all types of traditional windmills and are especially useful where changes in wind direction are frequent. They are more common in England, Denmark and Germany than in other parts of Europe, and are little-known on windmills elsewhere except where English millwrighting traditions were in evidence.

Millers

Reference for above. [2]

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References

  1. ↑ "POST MILL, MILL HILL, FRAMSDEN, MID SUFFOLK, SUFFOLK". English Heritage. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Brown, R J (1976). Windmills of England. London: Robert Hale Ltd. p. 170. ISBN   0-7091-5641-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Flint, Brian (1997). Suffolk Windmills. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. pp. 9–12, 15–16, 19, 22–24, 83, 114–121. ISBN   0-85115-112-4.
  4. 1 2 3 Regan, Dean (1997). Windmills of Suffolk. Suffolk: Dean Regan. pp. 6–7. ISBN   0-9531562-0-6.
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