Welgelegen (, en, Well-situated) or Tjepkema's Molen (, en, 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 type ...

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

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 ...

, which was built in 1849 and has been restored to working order. 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 ...

, No. 21171.

History

On 20 August 1849, Hermanus Hendrik Kok of

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

sold a parcel of land at Heerenveen to

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 ...

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 a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

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 (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

who demolished windmills for a living. Through the intervention of

De Hollandsche Molen Vereniging De Hollandsche Molen () ( en, Dutch Windmill Association) 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 o ...

, the mill was sold to the

Gemeente As of 24 March 2022, there are 344 municipalities ( nl, gemeenten) and three Caribbean Netherlands, special municipalities () in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. ...

Aengwirden Aengwirden is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Friesland. It covered the area around the village of Tjalleberd. It existed until July 1, 1934. The area of the former municipality is now a part of the municipality of Heerenveen Hee ...

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

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 Tzummarum ( fry, Tsjummearum) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,414 in January 2014. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as de Thumarentum, ...

fitted the French Burr millstones. In 1988, the mill was purchased by the Stichting Molen Welgelegen ( en, Welgelegen Mill Society). 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, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

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 ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

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