Bronkhorstermolen is a

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

Steenderen Steenderen is a former municipality and a village in the eastern Netherlands. It has been part of the new municipality of Bronckhorst since 2005. History It was first mentioned in 1046 as Stenere, and means "stone buildings on a sandy ridge". I ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

which was built in 1844 and has been restored to working order. The mill is listed as a

Rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

History

There has been a windmill on this site since the late 15th century. A mill that had stood about a hundred years before was not then standing in 1496. Until 1795, the mill at Bronkhorst was one where the commoners living in the domain of the Bronckhorst nobility were mandated to take their grain to for milling. The mill immediately preceding the present mill was a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

which was standing in 1803, when it was sold to Jan Breukink. The mill, and its successor, were to remain in the Breukink family until the late 20th century. The post mill burnt down on 18 May 1844. Bronkhorstermolen was built to replace it. It worked until the late 1930s. A committee was formed in 1958 to restore the mill, which took place in 1960. The mill was the first in the Netherlands to be fitted with a counter on its windshaft to enable it to receive a grant from the Dutch Government according to the number of times the sails rotated. A dispute followed and the mill again ceased to work. In 1980, the mill was sold to the municipality Bronckhorst, following which it was returned to work. Bronkhorstermolen is listed as a

, № 34543.

Description

Bronkhorstermolen is what the Dutch call a "Beltmolen". It is a three-storey tower mill built into a cast mound which is high. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost down to ground level. The cap is

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

ed. Winding is by tailpole and winch. The sails are a pair of

Common sails Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

, fitted with the Van Bussel system on their leading edges, and a pair Ten Have sails, fitted with the Van Bussel system on their leading edges. They have a span of . They are carried on a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

windshaft, which was cast by Enthoven & Co.,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

in 1870. The windshaft also carries the brake wheel, which has 60 cogs. This drives a wallower with 31 teeth, which is situated at the top of the upright shaft. At the bottom of the upright shaft is the great spur wheel, which has 72 cogs. This drives a pair of Cullen

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s and a pair of French Burr stones via lantern pinion stone nuts with 22 staves each. A third pair of French Burr stones is fitted, but there is no drive to them now.

Public access

Bronkhorstermolen is open on Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00, or by appointment.

References

{{Dutch Windmills Windmills in Gelderland Windmills completed in 1844 Tower mills in the Netherlands Grinding mills in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Gelderland