De Rentmeester ( en, The Steward) is a smock mill in Menaam,

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

Dronryp Dronryp ( nl, Dronrijp) is a village in the Dutch municipality of Waadhoeke. On 1 January 2017, it had 3,281 inhabitants. History and architecture Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. A few centuries BC, a settleme ...

in 1857 and moved to a new site at Menaldum in 1982, replacing a mill that had burnt down. The mill has been restored to working order. It 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

The mill was built in 1857 to drain the Noorderpolder at

. A mill had previously been built on that site in 1833. For many years, a

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-call ...

located in the mill had worked the

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 ...

. In latter years, the mill stood derelict. The Original mill on the site now occupied by ''De Rentmeester'' was ''De Kooi'' ( en, The Cow). It was built in 1833 to drain the Zuidoosterderpolder. The mill burnt down on 25 March 1969. The mill was moved here in 1981 by

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

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 ...

. The mill's restoration was celebrated with an official opening ceremony on 29 October 1982. A further restoration took place in 1995. The name ''De Rentmeester'' was given to the mill at its new location. A new Archimedes' screw was fitted on 1 May 2012. On 23 February 2013, a bolt in the brake broke, and the mill was nearly set on fire by friction between the brake and brake wheel. The mill is owned by the Stichting Molens in Menaldumadeel. The mill is listed as a

, number 28611.

Description

''De Rentmeester'' is what the Dutch describe as a ''Grondzeiler''. It is a two-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick 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. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft'', which was cast by Gietijzer H. J. Koning of Foxham, Groningen in 1907. It also carries the ''brake wheel'' which has 47 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (24 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 31 cogs drives an

via a ''crown wheel''. The lower ''crown wheel'', which has 32 cogs is carried on the axle of an Archimedes' screw, which was used to drain the polder. The axle of the screw is diameter and long. The screw is diameter. It is inclined at 26°. Each revolution of the screw lifts of water.

Public access

''De Rentmeester'' is open to the public by appointment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Rentmeester, Menaldum Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1982 Smock mills in the Netherlands Windpumps in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands 1982 establishments in the Netherlands