The
meeting started with the AGM, for which minutes are
being circulated separately.
Following the AGM we enjoyed an inspiring account of
the history, restoration, and conservation of the
grade 2 listed post mill at Saxtead Green in Suffolk
by millwrighting consultant Luke Bonwick. He has
very recently finished writing a book about this
well-known but under-studied landmark, and was
involved in some of its most recent restoration.
There
is a manorial record of a mill in Saxtead in 1287
but this would probably have been a simple buck
supported on an earth-fast post. In 1796 the mill
was built with brick supporting pillars and a
single-storey roundhouse, with sails which almost
touched the ground. The roundhouse was enlarged in
1854, becoming a 3-storey structure, and giving the
mill a total height of 54ft. A fantail was mounted
on the tailpole access ladder and two pairs of
belt-driven steam-powered stones were installed in
the lower part of the roundhouse, with an adjacent
shed for the engine. A cross-section of the mill in
1854 shows how the buck was not mounted centrally on
its post to compensate for the weight of the sails
and millstones.
By 1953
the buck was beginning to lean and the sails had
been damaged in a gale. Restoration began in 1957
when the buck was rebuilt under the supervision of
Jesse Wightman using parts from Sweffling High Mill,
but it never milled.
Extensive conservation work began in 2018 when
English Heritage started a £250K restoration
project. Luke became involved and designed, built,
and installed new sails, repaired the fantail and
stabilised the tail ladder with its huge wheeled
undercarriage. The mill is now once again able to
automatically turn into wind, which will help it to
weather evenly. It is now watertight, particular
care having been taken to soak the new timbers in
preservative (rather than just spraying them),
before meticulously covering all surfaces in paint.
