De Hempenserpoldermolen is a smock mill in

Wergea Wergea ( nl, Warga) is a village in Leeuwarden municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,560 in January 2017. There are two windmills in the village, De Hempenserpoldermolen and a paaltjasker. H ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

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 1863 and has been restored to working order. It is listed as a Rijksmonument.

History

''De Hempenserpoldermolen'' was built in 1863 to drain the Hempensermeerpolder. There had been a mill on the site since 1784. The mill worked by wind alone until 1955. A Brons

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

had been placed in the mill in 1953. In 1955, the mill was offered for sale and demolition, contrary to a directive requiring it to be kept in working order. The Provincial Executive refused permission for the mill's demolition and suggested that the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

took over the mill. On 30 December 1959, the water board sold the mill to the municipality Boarnsterhim for ƒ2. A condition of the sale was that the diesel engine remained in the mill. The mill was restored in 1983 by millwright Tacoma of

Stiens Stiens is a town in the municipality of Leeuwarden, Netherlands. As of January 2017, the town has a population of about 7,545. Between 1944 and 2018, it was the capital of the municipality of Leeuwarderadeel. History The village was first mentione ...

, Friesland. The diesel engine was replaced by an electric motor in 1986. The mill was sold to the Molenstichting Boarnsterheim in 2010. It is listed as a Rijksmonument, №34603.

Description

''De Hempenserpoldermolen'' is what the Dutch describe as a ''Grondzeiler''. It is a two storey smock mill on a single storey base. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost to ground level. The mill is winded by tailpole and winch. The smock and cap are

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. The sails are

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 ...

. They have a span of . The sails 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 impur ...

''windshaft'', which was cast by Gietijzerij De Prins van Oranje,

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 o ...

in 1889. The ''windshaft'' carries the ''brake wheel'' which has 60 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (30 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' there are two ''crown wheels'' The upper ''crown wheel'', which has 36 cogs drives an

Archimedes' screw The Archimedes screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps (Archimedes screw pump (ASP) or screw pump) dates back ...

via a ''crown wheel''. The lower ''crown wheel'', which has 37 cogs is carried on the axle of an Archimedes' screw, which is used to drain the polder. The axle of the screw is diameter and long. The screw is diameter. It is inclined at 29.5°. Each revolution of the screw lifts of water.

Public access

''De Hempenserpoldermolen'' is open whenever the mill is working by wind, or by appointment.

References

{{Dutch Windmills Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1863 Smock mills in the Netherlands Windpumps in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands