Crux Easton wind engine is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Titt

wind engine A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...

, used as a windpump, at Crux Easton,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which has been restored to working order.

History

Erected for the Earl of Carnarvon in 1891. The wind engine pumped water from a well deep. It was last used in the 1920s. The sails were removed in the 1960s and placed in storage. Restoration of the wind engine was undertaken by Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society and Hampshire Mills Group with assistance from the

British Engineerium The British Engineerium (formerly Brighton and Hove Engineerium) is an engineering and steam power museum in Hove, East Sussex. It is housed in the Goldstone Pumping Station, a set of High Victorian Gothic buildings started in 1866. The Goldst ...

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

for the Crux Easton Wind Engine Restoration Trust. The restoration was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which was asked to contribute £149,750 of the estimated £226,180 cost. Other grants were received from Basingstoke & Deane District Council, Hampshire County Council. and the

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

Charitable Trust. Restoration of the wind engine was delayed due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The restored wind engine was officially opened on 25 September 2002 by

Sir George Young George Samuel Knatchbull Young, Baron Young of Cookham, (born 16 July 1941), known as Sir George Young, 6th Baronet, from 1960 to 2015, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2015, h ...

Description

Crux Easton wind engine is a Titt Simplex geared wind engine. It has a diameter

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

mounted on a

hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Ancient Greek, Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple polygon, simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexa ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

tower. The annular sail has 48 blades, each one long. It is winded by a six blade fantail. The wind engine was primarily used for pumping water, but also drove a circular saw and a pair of

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. The mill is recorded as being capable of producing eight to ten sacks of flour per day.Note: A sack of flour weighed

Public access

Crux Easton wind engine is currently undergoing a refurbishment of the sails and is closed to the public.

References

External links

Crux Easton Wind Engine Conservation Trust website

{{Windmills in England Windmills in Hampshire Windmills completed in 1891 Water supply infrastructure Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire Grade II listed windmills Windpumps in the United Kingdom Water supply and sanitation in England 1891 establishments in England