National Mills Day is an event in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It occurs annually on the second Sunday in May. It started off as a single day event, but expanded to include Saturday as well as Sunday, and is now promoted as National Mills Weekend. The event is coordinated by the Wind and

Watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

section of the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the destructive 'restoration' of ancient buildings occurring in ...

. Traditionally, many preserved

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

and

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

that are usually closed to the general public open their doors and offer an insight into the mill workings and history. In support of National Mills Day,

Denby Dale Denby Dale is a village and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is 10 miles (17 km) to the south-east of Huddersfield and 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Barnsley. The village is the main villag ...

Radio Club coordinates hundreds of

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency commu ...

stations who operate from alongside and sometimes inside the mills.

Similar events

Elsewhere in Europe, similar events are held in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other countries. Germany has the ''Deutscher Mühlentag'' on

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...

. The Netherlands holds its ''Landelijke Molendag'' on the second Saturday in May.

References

External links

Mills On The Air

{{Authority control Public holidays in the United Kingdom May observances Windmills in the United Kingdom