Welgelegen (; "Well-situated") or Tjepkema's Molen (; ; "Tjepka's Mill") is a

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This t ...

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which was built in 1849 and has been restored to working order. The mill is listed as a

Rijksmonument A (, ) 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 had 61,822 l ...

, No. 21171.

History

On 20 August 1849, Hermanus Hendrik Kok of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

sold a parcel of land at Heerenveen to

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

Willem Frederick Looman of

, Overijssel for ƒ200. A contract was signed that Looman would build the mill and rent it back to Kok for ƒ650 per annum. The mill was built as a

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

mill. Kok did not stay long at the mill; Looman sold it within a year of its construction to Fredrik Hessel van Beyma thoe Kingma, who was the public prosecutor in Heerenveen. In 1872, the mill was purchased by Johannes Melis Tjepkema and acquired the name ''Tjepkema's Molen'', by which it is still known by today. In 1898, the mill's base was raised by ., giving it a height of . The mill ceased working for trade in 1923. It was sold to a man in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

who demolished windmills for a living. Through the intervention of

De Hollandsche Molen Vereniging De Hollandsche Molen () ( is a Dutch organization founded in 1923 to preserve windmills in the Netherlands, to document them, and to restore them. Financial support comes from members and from grants by organizations such as the (a D ...

, the mill was sold to the Gemeente Aengwirden in order to prevent demolition. On 1 September 1931, the mill was sold to the Gemeente Heerenveen for ƒ1,600. The mill was used to store hoses for the local

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

and ladders for the parks department of the council. A restoration was undertaken in 1950. In 1974, the mill was repaired so that it was capable of turning by wind again. A further restoration was undertaken in 1976-77 and in 1982 millwright Hiemstra of Tzummarum fitted the French Burr millstones. In 1988, the mill was purchased by the Stichting Molen Welgelegen (). In 1990, a new cap and internal machinery were fitted by Hiemstra. The mill was officially opened on 25 May 1991 by Burgemeester Reinders. ''Welgelegen'' is the only surviving windmill in Heerenveen of the seventeen that have stood at various times since the 15th century.

Description

''Welgelegen'' is what the Dutch describe as a "stellingmolen" (a windmill with a stage). It is a three-storey smock mill on a five-storey base. The stage is at the level of the fifth floor, above ground level. The smock and cap are

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

ed. The mill is winded by tailpole and winch. The sails are Common sails, with the leading edges streamlined on the Fok system. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft'', which was cast by Prins van Oranje,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1881. The ''windshaft'' also carries the clasp arm ''brake wheel'', which has 59 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (30 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'', the ''great spur wheel'', which has 104 cogs, drives the two pairs of millstones. The diameter French Burr stones are driven by a ''lantern pinion stone nut'' which has 29 staves. The diameter Cullen stones are driven by a ''lantern pinion stone nut'' which has 27 staves.

Millers

*Hermanus Hendrik Kok (1849–50) *Fredrik Hessel van Beyma thoe Kingma (1850- ) *Johannes Melis Tjepkema (1872- )

Public access

''Welgelegen'' is open to the public on Saturdays from 09:00 to 12:00.

External links

Website of Korenmolen Welgelegen

References

{{Dutch Windmills Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1849 Smock mills in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands 1849 establishments in the Netherlands 19th-century architecture in the Netherlands