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Bowmer & Kirkland Cheque – Major Funding Boost

John Kirkland Cheque 001A wonderfully generous donation of £10,000 by Bowmer & Kirkland has helped Heage Windmill Society achieve a challenging fundraising target to repair the 220-year-old mill.

When hidden wet rot was discovered in the windmill last August it seemed that the mill would be out of action for a very long time.

The Trust funds couldn’t match the initial estimates of about £90,000 for the repairs and other essential routine maintenance jobs from its own resources.

Time was of the essence, as the Trustees wanted to get the repairs completed for the 2016 season. They quickly realised there was no fast track route to obtaining support from major funding bodies and, together with the full support of  the mill volunteers from ‘The Friends of Heage Windmill’, they decided to go it alone.

John Kirkland Cheque 002Certain work could only be done by a professional millwright, but other work could be done be the volunteers, particularly servicing and painting the six sails and the cap – so they set about doing this. As a result of 500 hours of volunteer work on the sails alone over almost 16 weeks through the winter this has indeed been accomplished.

At the same time traditional millwrights, from Lincolnshire were tasked with the major repairs to the cap sub structure and with making a new fan tail assembly, both of which are still going on.

To fund all the repairs, the Trustees launched a web appeal, ran concerts, sales of donated goods, functions etc… anything they could think of.  Slowly the new established target for costs of £60,000 was being reached – but had somewhat stalled around at £42,000.

The fundraising effort needed a huge push and it came in the form of a donation from Heage-based construction firm Bowmer & Kirkland.

Chairman John Kirkland is the Patron of  Heage Windmill and his office looks over the site. He has supported the work at the mill from its initial restoration in 2002 up to the present time and felt that he could help further with the funding efforts.

John Kirkland Cheque 005He presented a cheque for £10,000 to Piers Bostock, Chairman of the Heage Windmill Trust, to boost the funding of the repairs, in front of a small gathering of those who had worked so hard to date to get mill repaired.

John Kirkland said: ‘I have always loved seeing the mill and it has been part of my life in Heage- I want to see her working again’.

Piers Bostock replied: ‘This magnificent contribution brings the funding target within the resources of the Trust to complete the repairs and they and the volunteers together will have her turning again as quickly as possible’.

 

 

Bel Canto Choir boosts Trouble at Mill Appeal

Bel Canto 004Many thanks to Amber Valley-based BelCanto Chorus who performed an evening of contemporary music in aid of Heage Windmill’s Trouble at Mill Appeal at St Luke’s Church, Heage.

The event raised a huge £508, so thank you also to all who came and swelled our coffers!

Bel Canto 002Extra funds were raised through the sale of refreshments, coordinated by Heage Windmill volunteers including Chairman of the Trustees, Piers Bostock, who introduced the concert and said a few words about the tremendous fund-raising effort which will soon see the sails turning again at the windmill.

 

 

 

Heage Windmill receives £10,000 and 99-year lease

Heage Windmill - Derbys CC Cheque + Lease 005It was a red letter day for Heage Windmill just days before the opening of a new season.

Friends of supporters of the windmill gathered to welcome Cllr Dean Collins of Derbyshire CC who presented a cheque for £10,000 to Heage Windmill’s Trouble At Mill Appeal.

Cllr Collins said it was important to get this popular tourist attraction, which is run entirely by volunteers, back in action as soon as possible.

Heage Windmill - Derbys CC Cheque + Lease 006He also delivered to the Trust a formal 99 year lease for the mill, which helps ensure the long term future of the mill.

During the morning the sails, which had been re-furbished and painted by mill volunteers, were brought back to mill site on a special lorry, loaned by local company J.C Balls.

They will be hoisted into position as soon as the millwrights have completed their work.  It is expected the mill will be in action again before the end of April.

Cream Teas & Cake Event Raises £300

Cream Tea EventMany of the good folks of Crich look down onto the windmill at Heage and enjoy seeing her working- not standing like a pepper pot with no sails!

A group of the members of the Trefoil Guild and Muddlealong Groups therefore decided to do something to help restore her back to her former glory. They organised a cream tea and cakes event, with some side stalls , and between them raised the admirable sum of £300 pounds for the Trouble at Mill Appeal.

A cheque was duly  presented at the mill to Lynn Allen (Friends of Windmill) by Hazel Pilgrim, with her colleagues Margaret Upton , Di Fretwell  and Stella Gill in attendance with Meg Tarlton (Sec. Heage Windmill Trust) looking on.

Lynn said: ‘We are always so grateful for all contributions to the repair fund.  Getting the windmill back to working order cannot come quickly enough for us.’

We were also presented with some excellent woodcuts and paintings of local windmills (including our own, of course) by a well known local artist, which will be framed and shortly offered for sale in the mill visitor centre. Another donation which will raise funds for the repairs!

Adrian Farmer opens Heage Windmill 2016 season

2016 Opening - Adrian Farmer 001On a cold, blustery morning at Heage Windmill, Heage Windmill’s 2016 season opener Adrian Farmer warmed the cockles by praising the volunteers of the mill for their ‘astounding’ efforts in not only creating a great visitor attraction but also raising in excess of £40,000 towards the restoration of the sails and cap structure, only eight months after launching the appeal.

‘You should all be very proud’ declared Adrian, who knows all about volunteering, having been Highly Commended in Visit England’s 2012 Tourism Superstar Awards.

2016 Opening - Adrian Farmer 006Adrian, coordinator of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, arrived at the windmill in style, driving a vintage tractor kindly provided by John Allsop of Belper.

Chair of Trustees Piers Bostock welcomed the gathering of volunteers, friends, visitors and guests – including the High Sheriff of Derbyshire Oliver Stephenson and his wife Fiona.

The Chair of the Friends of Heage Windmill, Angela Ward (wearing a fetching furry hat), then introduced Adrian, listing his multifarious achievements, including his several books about Belper and the Derwent Valley and his close association with Belper, which began when he joined the Belper News as a 23 year-old, making him the youngest newspaper editor in the country.

2016 Opening - Adrian Farmer 009After cutting the ribbon and declaring the season open, Adrian and his wife Mary were presented gifts by Heage Windmill’s very own Easter bunny Wosemary Wabbit.

It’s usual to present the guest opener with a bag of Heage Windmill flour.  However, with the sails having been removed last summer for urgent repairs, founder Trustee Alan Gifford handed Adrian an empty brown paper bag but which bore a label promising to fill it with flour once the millers start milling again.

2016 Opening - Adrian Farmer 016Ironically, in spite of the wind, one miller said that it was actually too windy to turn the sails!

The sails should be turning again at the end of April.  In the meantime, the windmill is open for visits every weekend plus Bank Holidays through until October.

Visitors have a chance to view the sails close up as they are now on site.

Pictured left are some of the volunteers who all helped with the restoration of the sails.

Here are more photos from the opening.

Progress on Heage Windmill Repairs

Weather beam Work 4May AS (6)It was last August when wet rot was found in some of the major timbers of Heage windmill and we were forced to stop producing flour.

It was a shock to all our volunteers but a clear decision was made: ‘Let’s get her working again – asap!’

A huge fund raising programme was set up and an assessment was made as to what work could be done by mill volunteers against the initial estimate of about £90,000.

Weather beam on May 3- 16 (2)When  the cost was more refined it was in fact  closer to £80,000. Fund raising has brought in £54,000 so far and with existing  mill reserves we can just about cover the costs, although the essential fund raising is still going on.

The sails were removed and painted off site by volunteers over the winter and are now back at the mill.  The millwrights have made a new fan staging and fantail (which turns the sails to face into the wind.) They have also made replacements for all the rotten parts discovered and have started to re-assemble the mill, whilst the cap has been repainted by volunteers.

DSC01470The new fan staging is now back in place and a major move forward has been the replacement of the old weather beam (which supports the windshaft and sails).

There is more hidden work to do before the sails go back but hopefully, by the end of this month, all will be completed and the mill will be working again.

 

Special Events at Heage Windmill

Sat/Sun 14th/15th May – National Mills Weekend with Tractor Day on the Sunday. Nunsfield Radio Group will be there on both days.

Sat/Sun 25th/26th June – Flower Festival.  This is to be held at St Luke’s Church, Heage with flowers also on display at the windmill.

Sunday July 10th – Bike Day with giant Bric-a-Brac sale.

Sunday October 30th – Cobweb Day.  This is also the final day of opening in the 2016 season.

Sunday December 4th – Santa Day.  More details nearer the time.

Heage Windmill Repairs Report

Heage Windmill Sail Restoration - Feb 2016 12More progress is being made on the repair and restoration of our sails.

The millwrights are working on the major repair while the mill volunteers are moving well with the refurbishing and painting of the sails and are approaching completing all of the planned work.

Heage Windmill Sail Restoration - Feb 2016 35They have disassembled the shutters on the old sails, cut out the dead wood on the whips, and have nearly finished painting all of the sails and shutters.

18 coats of paint were needed for the six sails – 3 coats per sail.

They have also been re-assembling the shutters and as each of the shutters is sponsored – there is a number on each referring to a sponsor – those numbers need to be re-stencilled.

It’s hard work but the hope is that all will be ready for the 2016 opening on Saturday March 26th.

 

Amber Valley Drinkers Dig Deep for Windmill Appeal

Amber Valley CAMRA Presentation
Tony Cooper (holding cheque to the right) pictured with Amber Valley CAMRA members Mike Wallis, Jane Wallis, Chris Rogers (Chair), Simon Riddington and David Harper

Heage Windmill’s Trouble at Mill Appeal (TAMA) is £348 better off thanks to the Amber Valley CAMRA Beer Festival held recently.

Heage Windmill Society Trustee Tony Cooper – himself a CAMRA member – contacted Amber Valley CAMRA to ask if he could shake a tin at their annual beer fest.  The next thing he knew, the Trouble at Mill Appeal had been adopted as the Festival’s nominated ‘good cause.’

The result was a collection of £348 which was presented to Tony, on behalf of the windmill, at AV CAMRA’s branch meeting at the Spanker in Nether Heage.

‘AV CAMRA really took the mill’s appeal on board,’ says Tony.  ‘As well as having a display desk at the festival, we had a whole page in the free festival programme where our appeal was explained, and the CAMRA cash desk volunteers were collecting cash from departing drinkers throughout the four-day festival.’

As Tony continues: ‘Thanks to the generosity of local people and the goodwill and support from groups like AV CAMRA, we now have sufficient funds to get started with the majority of the work involved in repairing the sails.’