Two Suffolk Mills,
well known to most Hampshire members, made the news
this spring:
Bardwell
Windmill: the Wheeler
family were joined by many local villagers and
supporters, in April, to celebrate the fixing of its
second set of sails, thus completing the restoration
work begun when all the sails were destroyed in the
great storm in October 1987, just after purchasing
the Windmill from James Waterfield. Sadly, Geoffrey
Wheeler was taken ill in 1989 and did not live to
see the work completed. Hampshire Mills Group are
proud to have been among many who sponsored shutters
for the new sails which cost £1000 in paint alone.
English Heritage and St Edmundsbury Borough Council
gave over £73,000 towards the estimated cost of
£92,000 to restore the mill to working order. The
balance was raised by the Friends of Bardwell
Windmill by means of various events which several H
M G members attended. The mill is a four-storey
tower mill with a beehive winded by a fantail. The
four double patented sales have a span of 63 feet
(19.20m) and are carried on a cast-iron wind shaft
which was cast in 1989 in one piece to replace the
original which was cast in two pieces. Bardwell
Windmill can be viewed on U-tube and Facebook and
there are several websites which give the history
and records of the completion of the restoration
works. For news of the annual threshing event in
August and later art exhibition tel: Mrs Enid
Wheeler on
01359 251331 or write to her at the
windmill.
Woodbridge Tide Mill:
a second Suffolk landmark has been celebrating
completion of restoration works in April. The £1.25
million Heritage Lottery Fund grant included
replacing the waterwheel. The HLF grant was
supplemented by a £955,800 grant from a consortium
including Woodbridge Town Council Suffolk Coastal
District Council, Waste Recycling Group Limited
charitable trusts and Rotary clubs plus individual
donors and businesses. The new oak wheel (made by
the International Boatbuilding College in
Lowestoft) weighs four tonnes and the Friends of
Woodbridge Tide Mill look forward to producing
grain there for the first time in 50 years . other
improvements include works to the foundations to
prevent the mill slipping into the River Deben; a
walkway around the tide mill and video cameras on
the upper floors to allow disabled people to see
what is happening; there will also be demonstrations
and workshops in flour milling for all ages to
attend.
