Friston Windmill 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 ...

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 ...

Friston Friston is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is southeast of Saxmundham, its post town, and northwest of Aldeburgh. The River Alde bounds the village on the south. The surrounding ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

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 conserved.

History

''Friston Windmill'' was moved from

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

by Collins, the Melton

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 ...

in 1812 and erected on land purchased by William and Mary Scarlett. They sold the mill to Joseph Collings in 1812. The mill was worked by several different millers until 1837 when it was purchased by Joshua Reynolds from

Knodishall Knodishall, a village in Suffolk, England, lies south-east of Saxmundham, south-west of Leiston, and 3 miles from the coast, in the Blything Hundred. Most dwellings are now at Coldfair Green; just a few remain in the original village by the ...

. The mill passed to Caleb Reynolds Wright in 1883 and to his son Caleb Reynolds Wright Jr. in 1924. A pair of sails was removed in 1943 and not replaced due to the shortage of timber. The mill worked on two sails until 1956 and then by 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 ...

until 1964. In 1965, permission was granted for the demolition of the mill but this was not carried out. Due to changes in planning law, permission had to be sought again in 1968. Villagers were divided as to whether the mill should be kept or demolished and there was much debate in the local newspapers. A millwright was asked to inspect the mill and the decision was deferred for a month. The millwrights’ report showed that the mill was structurally sound and it was agreed in principle that the mill should be moved to the East Anglian Rural Life Museum at

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 road (Great Britain), A14 trunk ...

, where plans for the museum included a windmill. Meanwhile, money was raised locally and repairs started on the mill in 1971. Permission for demolition was rescinded and on the death of the last miller in 1972 a new owner bought the mill with the intention of preserving it. In 1977, the body of the mill was restored by Messrs Jameson Marshall, millwrights. In 2003,

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

gave a grant covering 20% of the cost of repairs which then needed doing to the mill. In 2004, it was announced that a steel framework was to be erected around the mill in order to allow work on the

trestle ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...

and body of the mill.

Description

''Friston Windmill'' is a tall post mill with a roundhouse. It had four

Patent sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound rou ...

and was winded by a

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

carried on the rear steps in the Suffolk style. The mill is high, making it the tallest surviving post mill in the United Kingdom. The mill has been preserved but the three pairs 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 have been removed. The mill had two pairs of millstones in the breast and one pair in the tail.

Millers

*William and Mary Scarlett 1812 *Joseph Collings 1812 – *Robert Reynolds 1850s *John Reynolds 1850s *Joshua Reynolds 1850s – 1883 *Caleb Reynolds Wright 1883 – 1924 *Caleb Reynolds Wright Jr. 1924 – 1964 Reference for above:-

References

External links

Windmill World
webpage on Friston mill. {{Windmills in England Windmills in Suffolk Post mills in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk Windmills completed in 1812 Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Suffolk Coastal Grade II* listed windmills