Lacey Green Windmill

I’m sure nobody needs to be reminded that next weekend is National Mills Weekend which is held on the second weekend of May each year in the UK. The weekend is organised by the Mills Section of the SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings). As many wind and water mills as are able open on one or both of the two days of the weekend, in all over 400 mills should be open to the public. National Mills Weekend shows how important these wonderful buildings are, both in terms of our national heritage and our landscape. And, with increasing interest in natural food production and sustainable power sources it's hardly surprising that people want to find out more.

The Chilterns and Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire generally are home to many mills, a good number of which have been restored by dedicated volunteers. There are no less than 34 such mills within 25 miles of where we live as the Chiltern Escarpment and the upland north of Aylesbury Vale provides the windy conditions to power windmills and the good arable land hereabouts provided the grains. It is easy to look at these today and not realise that these are in fact sophisticated and highly developed pieces of industrial technology which in a pre-steam and motive power world provided the technology to meet the dietary needs of the population.


The Windmill before restoration

Indeed close by we have the four main types of mill represented. Quainton has a 6-storey tower mill built in 1832, which ceased working by wind in 1890, milled under steam until c 1914 and which has a unique wrought iron cap. It towers over the surrounding landscape and a visit can be coupled with a visit to the nearby Bucks Railway Centre at Quainton Junction or the wonderful Claydon House with its many associations with Florence Nightingale. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/claydon-house-buckinghamshire.html ) Brill Windmill is a post mill with a roundhouse, thought to be of late 17th century origin, but with later alterations and additions. Restored in 1948 but does not work or turn to wind. Another post mill in the area is Pitstone Windmill at Ivinghoe, a 17th century post mill with a brick roundhouse, last worked in 1902. This is believed to be one of the oldest post mills in the country. It was restored to workable condition by volunteers in 1963-70, but no longer able to turn to wind. It is owned by the National Trust.



Nearby is Ford End Watermill which is a small, brick and weather boarded watermill with a mansard roof, overshot waterwheel and two pairs of stones. First recorded in 1616, but built earlier on the site of an old farm mill; in use until 1963. It was restored to working order by a succession of volunteers now under the Ford End Watermill Society; it retains the atmosphere of the late 1800s. It still mills flour using the original machinery and has an unusual sheep wash in tailrace. Nearby is the Pitstone Farm Museum which gives an excellent insight into life in rural Bucks in times gone by.



However my own favourite is the smock mill at Lacey Green both for the charm of the structure and the charm of the small group of enthusiasts who have lovingly restored it and open it to the public. It is a 4-storey smock mill, built about 1650 and last worked about 1915. It is believed to be England’s oldest surviving smock mill and it was restored to turning order by the Chiltern Society under the leadership of Christopher Wallis in 1971. It is called a “Smock Mill” as its splayed shape is reminiscent of a traditional farmer’s smock. It was repainted last year and had its fan tail (which turns the Cap and the sails) replaced so it is looking very smart in its prominent position on the edge of the Chilterns at the moment.


The Mill Workings

By its construction methods, the internal wooden machinery appears to date from the middle of the 17th century, around 1650. Tracing the 19th century history of the mill is closely tied to records of the millers who operated it. Research is continuing to try and find more history of those who ran the windmill in the past. The body of the mill was undoubtedly rebuilt in the early 19th century, and at some time its machinery was modernised. The modernisations included the fitting of a fantail (on the back of the cap) to turn the cap into the wind automatically, the fitting of a pair of patent sails, and adding interior refinements such as a governor (for some automatic adjustment of running speed), a smutter (to clean the grain), and a bolter (to sift the flour).

The windmill was in use until around 1915. After this it was used in the 1920s as a weekend cottage. However despite some obvious attempts at weatherproofing (with corrugated iron sheets and roofing felt), by the mid 1930s it was in a poor condition, and rapidly deteriorating.


The brake wheel

An idea of how complex a piece of machinery a windmill is can be gained by taking a journey in reverse down the structure. We star at the CAP, and then go down each of the four floors of the mill, starting at the top with the DUST FLOOR, then the BIN FLOOR, then the STONE FLOOR, and finally the MEAL FLOOR, which is the basement of the mill.

The CAP is the part of the windmill that automatically rotates to enable the main sails to face the wind. The wind shaft is a huge piece of timber across the centre of the cap. Protruding from the front of the cap, and on the end of the windshaft is a metal canister which holds the main sails. Inside the cap, and on the windshaft, is a large wheel called the brake wheel. To carry the drive down the mill, teeth on the brake wheel engage with teeth on another wheel called the wallower.


Wallower

The DUST FLOOR was so called as this was where the sacks of grain were unpacked for milling. It is dominated by the vertical main shaft which travels down three floors of the mill. On the top of the main shaft is the wallower whose teeth engage with the brake wheel, transferring power (when the main sails are turning) down the mill to the machinery on the floors below. The main shaft, the wallower, the brake wheel and the wind shaft are all made of oak, and all probably date from around 1650. Also on this floor are two bins or hoppers which store grain and flour for the two machines on the Bin Floor below.


Bolter for sifting flour

The BIN FLOOR is where power is taken off the main shaft by a metal wheel which has been made in two sections to clamp around the wooden main shaft and where the grain is graded and polished prior to milling. There are three pieces of machinery on this floor. Firstly, the sack hoist is used to haul sacks of grain or flour up the mill. Secondly, a smutter which is a machine used for cleaning the grain before it was ground. Thirdly, a bolter which is a sifting machine used for grading the flour. The Smutter and Bolter at Lacey Green are 19th century machines that were brought from another mill during the restoration, to replace similar ones that were beyond repair. Also on this floor are two bins or hoppers which are loaded with grain for grinding on the Stone Floor below.


Millstone

The STONE FLOOR is where the actual milling is done. On this floor is a large beam which supports the weight of the main shaft. Power is taken off the main shaft via another very old wheel called the Great Spur Wheel. Much smaller cog wheels called stone nuts can be engaged with the teeth on the Great Spur Wheel to drive either of two pairs of mill stones. One pair are Derbyshire Millstone grit, used for coarse grinding of oats or barley for animal food. The other pair are French Burr Stone, used for the finer grinding of wheat into flour. As the meal floor below is partly sunk down there are two doors on this floor for loading the sacks of flower directly into carts as the door heights lined up with the cart heights.

The MEAL FLOOR is below ground level, there are massive timbers around the middle of the floor which support the millstones on the floor above. Between these timbers there are two flour boxes or bins to catch the products being ground by the millstones. The underneath of the bed (or fixed) millstones can be seen above the flour boxes. The weight of the top (or runner) millstones is carried by horizontal timbers on this floor, where adjustments to the gaps between the millstones would be made.

All the restoration work has been done by volunteers, led by Christopher Wallis, who devised the methods by which the collapsing mill could be straightened, strengthened and made watertight to survive into the future. Volunteers open the windmill to the public on at least 25 afternoons each year. It is necessary for visitors to park in Pink Road, and then walk up the path to the windmill, as we have no access for visitors' cars. At the entrance, there are 3 steps down into the basement of the windmill. Inside, all four floors can be visited; however the access between floors is only by fairly steep steps and ladders. Unfortunately, this all makes the mill rather inaccessible to most disabled people. As a historic listed building with limited space, it is impossible to alter this situation. At the other end of Pink Road is the famous Pink and Lily Pub which is associated with the war poet Rupert Brooke. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/03/rupert-brooke-and-chilterns.html )



Lacey Green Windmill, like all the mills in the Chilterns area, is a much loved feature of the landscape and a fascinating journey back in time. The ingenuity and craftsmanship involved in these pre-industrial machines is impressive. For instance the cog teeth in the mechanisms were made from fruit wood (apple and pear) as this timber is both harder and self lubricating and a lot of the rope controls on the hoists are “sprung” with ash saplings. The volunteer cadre at Lacey Green are particularly charming people dedicated to sharing their enthusiasm with you and showing you around the excellent exhibition and the mill workings. Their enthusiasm for this part of our heritage is infectious and who knows, maybe wind power is an idea whose time has come again?

Lacey Green Windmill

Location

Grid reference - SP 819 008
OS Sheet – 165

Postcode - HP27 0PG

About 2 miles south east of Princes Risborough, behind ‘The Whip’ pub, in Lacey Green. Signposted from A4010.

Opening times
May to September, Sundays & Bank Holiday Mondays, 14.30 - 17.30. Last admission 17.00.

Website
www.laceygreenwindmill.org.uk

National Mills Weekend
http://www.nationalmillsweekend.co.uk/nmw.htm