The Himriksmole, also known as Groene Ster after the recreational area and nature reserve where it is located, is a drainage mill near the village of

Tytsjerk Tytsjerk ( nl, Tietjerk ) is a village in Tytsjerksteradiel in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of 1,614 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1392 as Thiatzerckera, and means "the church of ...

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 ...

. It is a hollow post windmill of the type called ''spinnenkop'' by the Dutch. 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 ...

, number 35675, and is used to raise the water level in the nature reserve.

History

The mill was originally built for draining the Hemrikspolder near

Huizum Huizum is a residential area of the municipality of Leeuwarden in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. It has approximately 9,000 inhabitants. Huizum was formerly part of Leeuwarderadeel and incorporates a former village. Description Huizum has ...

, with parts of an 18th-century mill from Wergea being used in its construction. It was replaced by an electric pumping station and moved in 1952 to Rijperkerk and in 1977 to its current location, where it was put to a new use, supplying water to the nature reserve. The mill was destroyed by arson in 1995 but rebuilt the following year.

Description

The Himriksmole is what the Dutch describe as a ''spinnenkop'' (English: spiderhead mill). It is a small hollow post mill wound by a winch. The four common sails have a span of and are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft''. The ''brake wheel'' on the windshaft drives the ''wallower'' at the top of the ''upright shaft'' in the body (on a spinnenkop called the head), which passes through the main post into the substructure. At the bottom of this shaft, a pair of ''crown wheels'' drive the

scoop wheel Rim driven Scoop wheel of the Stretham Old Engine, Cambridgeshire A scoop wheel or scoopwheel is a pump, usually used for land drainage. A scoop wheel pump is similar in construction to a water wheel, but works in the opposite manner: a wate ...

axle. The scoop wheel itself is located outside the mill. The Himriksmole is the only drainage mill with a scoop wheel in Friesland; other Frisian drainage mills use 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 ...

. The head and substructure are weatherboarded.

Public access

The mill is easily reached from the public footpath running past the mill.

References

External links

{{commonscat, Himriksmole Windmills in Friesland Hollow post mills in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Windmills completed in 1996