Mount Pleasant Mill is a
windmill
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 ...
north of
Kirton in Lindsey
Kirton in Lindsey, also abbreviated to Kirton Lindsey, is a market town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is south-east from Scunthorpe.
History
Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII lived at Kirton-in-Lindsey afte ...
on the North Cliff Road in
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Bar ...
in the east of England (
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
).
Construction
It was built in 1875 for miller Edric Lansdall as a four-patent-sailed, slightly tapering four-storeyed tarred
tower mill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520
Thi ...
with onion-shaped cap and
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 " ...
on top of the remaining roundhouse of a previously erected post-mill. The junction between the former roundhouse wall of hand-made bricks and the newly superimposed tower made of machine-moulded bricks is almost indistinguishable. On the second floor, the stone floor, originally three pairs of millstones (two pairs of peak stones (grey stones or greys) and one pair of
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
(French stone)) were driven, of which only one grey pair remained. This peak stone is cut from rock
millstone grit quarried in the
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...
of southwest
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
and northeast
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, England.
The mill has had a namesake windmill in
Stockton-on-Tees, built around 1790 as an 8-storeyed four-sailed stage-windmill of ca. 80 ft height in reverse colours (white painted tower with black onion-shaped cap) and demolished around the late 1920s.
History
Mount Pleasant Mill worked by wind until 1933 and by a diesel single cylinder Crossley engine until 1973. Fred Banks, who ran it then, also owned
Alford Windmill
Alford Windmill is a five-sailed windmill in Alford, Lincolnshire and the only surviving windmill out of four. Though the windmill has been restored to working order, it no longer supplies flour for sale.
Construction
Alford Windmill is a ...
. It is the only windmill in the area beside Heapham Mill with original and unrestored equipment and machinery of the 1920s and 1930s. The original cap with the oak cap frame is still in place. The original ''windshaft'', ''wallower'', ''upright shaft'' and ''great spur whee''l are made of
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 ...
, as are the tooth ring of the wooden ''brakewheel'' with its
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
clasp arm construction and wooden brake, all installed in the 1930s. A refinement to the mill is the elevator to replace the old ''sack
hoist'' which worked off the underside of the ''wallower'' by a friction ring, and the elevator to feed the first floor bin (3rd floor) for the hurst frame. This is a massive timber frame supporting the transfer gearing and heavy mill stones casings, helping to reduce the vibration of the turning mill stones and their wheels (''stone nuts''). It is a separate structure inside the mill tower thus reducing the transfer of vibrations and noise into the building itself.
The mill was restored in 1991 and is a commercially working flour mill, making organic flour which is sold to the public. There is a tea room for visitors.
On 29 November 2015 the windmill was severely damaged by high winds, causing two of the sails and the tail-fan to be torn off - some pieces landing away. The mill was shut for two weeks and is now up and running through the use of electric motors powering the French burr stones and the Derbyshire peaks. Business is continuing as usual producing a range of organic flours and fresh breads using a wood-fired oven.
References
External links
Mount Pleasant Windmill
{{coord, 53.4827, -0.5862, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Windmills in Lincolnshire
Tower mills in the United Kingdom
Grinding mills in the United Kingdom
Windmills completed in 1875
Kirton in Lindsey