Two East Midlands Today reports have been found about Heage Windmill. View them here…
It is difficult to visualise Heage Windmill nowadays as the wreck it was before restoration, as so much work has been done to bring her back to working order.
Alan Gifford, one of the earliest volunteer workers, has recently found two video clips from BBC TV’s East Midlands Today which clearly show what was faced in bringing the windmill back to life in the mid 1990’s when it was in a seriously neglected condition.
The first news report, probably in 1994 or early 1995, shows the eroded condition of the soft ironstone from which she is built. Alan, with Margaret Kent , the then Chairman of Heage Windmill Society, and Dave Nicholls, another early worker, are seen examining rotten flooring, caused by water ingress. The condition of some pieces of machinery are also shown.
In the second news report – 22nd of January 1997 – the poor condition of the stone work is again displayed. Some shots of the internal machinery are also shown, with new paint which has been added by volunteer workers. The group is also seen examining the sail which was damaged by a lightning strike in 1995, whilst Alan unearths what might be a hidden stone path way and a fragment of kiln tile. Dave expresses hopes for the future whilst Margaret cannot wait for the sails to turn again as a result of an application for Heritage Lottery funding which, in due course, contributed to the full restoration, even to grinding corn again and making Heage flour.
Thanks to Dave Tindall for sending us some amazing aerial photos of Heage Windmill. Look at the black and white one and you can see the curvature of the Earth – very dramatic! Below is another one…
Sadly, we had to announce that the Heage Windmill Photographic Competition had to be cancelled. The competition was due to be judged and the prizes presented on Sunday, September 22nd. Due to the small number of entries, it was decided it was best to cancel. However, the photographers who who DID enter will have their images displayed at the mill over the next two weekends – as well as on this website – and they will be given free entry into a future contest.
We certainly hope to stage another competition in the future especially as last year’s was a decided success with a large number of entries and of very high quality. Maybe staging another competition the following year was a bit too soon… However, we know that hundreds of photographs are taken by visitors throughout the year. Indeed, many camera clubs have booked special visits to the windmill over the years – we recently had a visit from Ashbourne Camera Club – so we are very aware of how photogenic our mill can be.
So, keep taking those photos. Indeed, if you have any photos of the mill that you’re pleased with, do email them to us. You may then have the pleasure of seeing one of your images displayed on our website which will help us highlight this wonderful visitor attraction.
If you want to email us your image of Heage Windmill, just ensure it is at low resolution. Tell us your name and any details about the photo e.g. when you took it, equipment used. Email it by clicking here.
If you intend to take a photo and could do with some inspiration, below is a gallery of the best photos from last year’s competition.
Heage Windmill is proud to produce and sell stone ground flour, in various grades, using essentially traditional methods.
The milling set up, as normally seen during a visit to the mill, with the stones enclosed by wooden casings and hoppers
In order to maintain the quality of the product, it is necessary to clean and sharpen the grooves which are cut into the millstone. In days of old, itinerant stone dressers toured wind and water mills and performed this essential task for the miller.
The actual pair of mill stones are visible when all the associated equipment has been removed.
Today there are no such skilled men to hand and so it has been necessary for the team of maintenance volunteers at Heage Windmill to learn how to do this themselves.
Some of the longstanding mill workers are now getting ‘ a bit long in the tooth’ and this year the opportunity was taken to pass their experience on to newcomers.
The runner stone is being slowly raised from the bed stone
In order to carry out this operation it is necessary to lift and turn the runner ( or top stone) exposing the faces used in grinding the flour to enable them to be serviced.
The runner stone at Heage weighs 722 kilos (nearly 1600 lbs) and this has to be carefully raised and then swung out, to be turned over and laid on its back, with due attention being paid to relevant Health & Safety issues.
Brian Naylor, the Mill Maintenance manager, gathered a team of workers to the site last week and, guided by experienced miller John Boucher, performed the task, which went off without a hitch.
The runner stone is lifted clear using the scissor grip crane
The runner stone was lifted by a temporary crane which was erected over the stones and the actual lift carried out in the traditional manner, using scissor-like grips with pegs which fit into pre-existing holes in the stone. The lift was powered by a modern pull lift, although in the old days wedges and pulleys would have been used!
Then the runner stone is turned over to expose the milling surface, prior to being laid on its back.
Once turned over, both stones could be closely examined to establish if there were any high spots, (there weren’t!) and all surfaces cleaned. The grooves and cutting faces were then sharpened using hand operated, traditional mill bills which chip away and sharpen any worn areas.
For several hours the mill rang to the sound of hammering whilst the various team members tried their hand at the dressing process, until the two stones met the high standard demanded by John.
Cleaning the bed stone. Note the bearing at the eye, or centre of the stone, and the hole, left foreground, where the flour falls through to be processed on the floor below
Once completed, the runner stone had to be raised and turned again and then carefully lowered back onto to its bearings and the rest of the milling ‘furniture’ – or equipment – was re-installed. All in all, a long day’s work, but one which proved very satisfying to those involved and which will hopefully ensure Heage Windmill will continue to produce high quality flour.
The Trust expressed its sincere thanks to all who worked so hard in performing this very necessary task.
The weather was not the best, but a great time was had by good crowds at both the sheep shearing and visit of the vintage tractors on the weekend of May 12/13 which also coincided with National Mills weekend.
Debbie Bostock , who lives in Heage adjacent to the windmill, brought her herd of Coloured Ryeland sheep to the mill to be sheared by professional shearer Phillip Fisher, from South Yorkshire. One huge ram, (who liked to sit on his haunches and view the crowd) looked very much more normal sized when shorn and his huge fleece was displayed for all to see. Phillip then sheared all rest of the flock whilst their lambs watched apprehensively! Some of the wool was then spun by hand into thread on a number of treadle spinning wheels by members of Phillip’s family, a process which the watching crowd found fascinating.
On the Sunday a large number of visitors gathered to examine a large collection of vintage tractors, an event organised by John Allsop of Heage. The old machines had been carefully restored by their owners, and shone, despite the sometimes inclement weather. One Mum said ‘My two year old was thrilled to sit on the tractor seats– thank you owners!’ – and so say all who were there………..
BBC TV’s East Midlands weathergirl Sara Blizzard arrived in style – on a vintage tractor – and performed the opening ceremony with some warming thoughts about our ‘fascinating’ and ‘wonderful’ windmill, officially seeing in the windmill’s 12th season.
A sizeable crowd turned up on a cold but bright day – Sara apologised for not bringing warmer weather! – and, after the cutting of the ribbon, our special guest set the sails turning and enjoyed a guided tour of the mill. Sara was presented with flowers, a framed picture of the mill in winter – appropriately following a blizzard – and a windmill goodie bag containing a bag of our milled flour, welcomed with delight by Sara as she revealed she is a keen bread maker. As if planned, she waved goodbye in a small blizzard of snow flakes – hopefully the last this season!
Would you like to find out what it’s like to be a miller?
We can offer you the unique, exciting experience of being ‘Miller for a Day’ and working directly with a skilled miller.
If you are interested – whether male or female – you need to be reasonably fit and able to climb the steep mill stairs many times during the day. You will need to be at the mill from about 10.15 am to 5.00 pm so you can learn how to set up, operate, and close down the mill. In so doing, you will become familiar with parts of the mill not normally open to visitors. If the wind is blowing, we may even be milling flour!
A drone aircraft has ‘spied’ on Heage Windmill – and it’s resulted in great aerial photos.
This is the drome which flew round the windmill
Craig Ibbotson of Square Planet Photography has built an aerial imaging system, a specially-designed, radio-controlled model aeroplane. To see the images and read about Craig’s photography project, click here
Copyright of this article lies with SPAB (the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings). The Mills Section of SPAB protects hundreds of traditional windmills and watermills each year from proposals to demolish or damage them. To visit their website to learn more, click here
Heage windmill, as seen from the drone plane.
Craig has freely made the image available for us to use on this site and maybe he could do something similar for you? The work was done as part of a degree course and Craig is now starting his own photographic business.
Would you like to be a Trustee or Friend of the windmill?
Since Heage Windmill was restored and opened to the public in 2000, it has become a major tourist attraction, attracting around 6000 visitors per year.
The mill is operated as a Charitable Trust and, to keep her operating, we require two groups of volunteers: The Trustees and The Friends. The Trustees cover the overall necessary legal management whilst The Friends, a group of volunteers coming from assorted disciplines, actually maintain and operate the mill. This stalwart band has been essential to the machinery restoration, serve as tour guides, serve at the shop and visitor centre, and help run education and social activities.
With the passage of time, due to age, illness and moving away of some our initial key persons, we are in seeking some new recruits in both areas. So, we are appealing to talented persons, friends, volunteers and maybe past visitors, to come forward to offer your hidden, or not so hidden, talents to participate in our activities.
The Trustees have akey role of ensuring conformity to the Charity Commission’s requirements (including financial matters), planning and managing the development of the site, and ensuring that Health & Safety criteria are maintained for both staff and visitors. Candidates must be over 18 years of age. Some understanding of business skills, such as tourism, IT, finance or publicity is helpful but not essential. What IS essential is your enthusiasm, to ensure our wonderful mill thrives.
The Friends, who actually operate the mill, need some more friendly folk, who will be trained to be guides or shop workers or who might bring their own already developed maintenance skills and adapt them to the needs of the mill and the surrounds. From these posts it is then possible to move on to became an approved miller.
If you are interested, please email us here or telephone Alan Gifford on 01283 702299
Major maintenance has now been completed at Heage Windmill. The mill was restored, with the aid of various grants, and much voluntary work, to enable it to open as a working windmill in 2002, producing stone ground flour in the traditional manner. For the first time since then, major work has been undertaken to ensure the secure operation of the mill in the future.
Neil, working from the ‘cherry picker’ and removing the sealing laths from the cap.
There are currently few millwrights in the UK able to undertaken the task of recovering the movable top of the mill (the cap) with heavy duty canvas and then repainting it to ensure a durable covering . We have been able to secure the services of Neil Medcalf, who is based in Farlesthorpe, in Lincolnshire and who, despite adverse weather conditions, has now completed the task. He has also modified the mechanism which opens and closes the shutters, enabling a tighter seal when closed and thus improving the available power we can obtain from the wind.
We hope that this work , which has been 100% funded from mill funds, will enable the mill to operate successfully for many years to come, maintaining its position as one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Amber Valley district.
Heage Windmill is open every Saturday and Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from April to the end of October, 11am to 4pm. For Admission Prices, Details of Group and School Visits and Where to Find us, click here >
Two East Midlands Today reports have been found about Heage Windmill. View them here…
The first news report, probably in 1994 or early 1995, shows the eroded condition of the soft ironstone from which she is built. Alan, with Margaret Kent , the then Chairman of Heage Windmill Society, and Dave Nicholls, another early worker, are seen examining rotten flooring, caused by water ingress. The condition of some pieces of machinery are also shown.
