This Sunday, classic motor bikes will once again roar into Heage Windmill.
The bikes will be of all types, from tourers to out and out racers, and should include most well known makes, such as BSA , Honda, Royal Enfield and even some very immaculate Harley Davidsons.
Come and see, touch and snap these lovely machines.
All these photos are from previous Classic Bike days.
Heage Windmill recently enjoyed a visited by 16 cars of pre-1940s vintage.
But more than that: all the occupants were dressed in 1940s style and they came prepared, with picnic tables – some with table cloths – and food to match.
The cars were a variety of makes including Alvis, Austin, Rover and Triumph, and all gleamed in the sun light. They came from all parts of the UK, too
There was a further attraction: one of our visitors produced a wind-up gramophone and proceeded, much to the delight of the other visitors, to perform 1940s type dances.
It was such a success our visitors said they intend to come again as soon as they can arrange it, so expect to see this event billed for 2017.
What made the day even more complete was the fact that the windmill sails turned all day for the first time since last August. Truly a memorable day.
Heage Windmill recently hosted a visit from the Hare and Hounds Classic and Vintage Car Club from Marple in Cheshire.
During the day, about 80 to 100 of these beautiful vehicles and their drivers called at the Mill (now complete with her 6 sails) as they were taking part in a Peaks and Dales Charity Run.
All the cars have been lovingly restored and maintained and it was marvellous to see the two old forms of machinery coming together.
Once again, Heage windmill supported the local church, St. Luke’s, in their annual flower festival, to celebrate the onset (we hope!) of summer.
The display in St Luke’s on behalf of the Mill were all done by Celia Straw and Ruth Vickerstaff. Thanks to all who contributed – as these photos show, there were wonderful displays everywhere.
Heage Windmill celebrated National Mills Weekend, co-ordinated by SPAB (Society for Protection of Ancient buildings), by staging its always popular Tractor Day.
The sun shone all day so it was pleasantly warm for the big crowd of visitors who came to the mill.
On site was a very wide range of some 30 vintage tractors, most of which had been lovingly restored.
There was also a large gathering of stationary engines, some of which were working.
In a tent, the Nunsfield Radio club was hard at work, making contact with numerous other similar groups located at other mills also open over the weekend.
In addition the Friends of Heage Windmill ran a fund raising bric a brac stall which attracted a lot of interest and helped the restoration funds.
Also on display were the refurbished sails, waiting to be fitted, and some of the large rotten timbers which had caused the mill to stop working and producing flour.
Replacements have already been fitted and although some more work still is needed, it is getting closer to the date when the sails will turn again.
Derwent Mills Cottages are kindly boosting our Trouble at Mill Appeal by offering a 7-night stay for two at Strutt Cottage in Belper, which you can win by buying a raffle ticket for only £2.50.
This early 19th century mill worker’s home, described as ‘a welcoming, cosy cottage with vintage touches and a relaxing feel’ contains a ‘well-equipped kitchen, clean pleasant bathroom with new electric shower, a surprisingly spacious double bedroom and a cosy living room with a convincing but easy to use cast iron real flame gas fire. All linen and towels are supplied and even free WiFi is also available.’
If you win the holiday, you can choose a week inbetween October 1st this year and March 31st of next year.
Tickets are £2.50 and are available at the Windmill or from volunteers.
The raffle will be drawn at Autumn Tractor Day on September 4th at 12 noon.
To read more about Strutt Cottage, click here
A 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.
Certain 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.
He 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’.
Many 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!
On 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.
Adrian, 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.
After 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.
Ironically, 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.
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 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 >
In the early 19th century, Britain had 10,000 windmills. Heage Windmill experienced fluctuating fortunes until the Heage Windmill Society was formed in 1995. To discover Heage Windmill's history and how it was restored to working order, click here >
All our flour is stoneground at the windmill from wheat grown in this country and can normally be bought at the mill during visiting times, and at Bakewell Farmers' Markets every month. For more about our flour, click here >
Heage Windmill cannot operate without volunteers, so why not join us? To read more about the different ways you can help - as a miller, guide, working in the shop or helping out at the farmers' markets, click here >
| Belper, GB |
 |
3°C broken clouds |
|
Wind
23 mph, WNW
Humidity
86%
Pressure
1 bar
|
||
| Day | Cond. | Temp. | Wind | Humidity | PressurePres. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sun dec 22 |  |
4/4°C | 23 mph, W | 89% | 1 bar |
| mon dec 23 |  |
5/2°C | 10 mph, WNW | 82% | 1.02 bar |
| tue dec 24 | |
11/7°C | 8 mph, W | 96% | 1.02 bar |
| wed dec 25 |  |
10/7°C | 7 mph, SW | 94% | 1.03 bar |
| thu dec 26 | |
9/6°C | 3 mph, WNW | 91% | 1.04 bar |
Please note the wind speed. If it is more than 5 or 6 mph, then normally the sails will be turning.
Heage Windmill is owned by Derbyshire CC but is controlled and operated by Heage Windmill Society, a charitable organisation (Reg Charity No 1065980), to whom all profits from running the windmill are donated by the Friends to help ensure its continued preservation
