Windlust ( en, "A love of wind") 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 ...

Wolvega Wolvega ( nds, Wolvege), ( fry, Wolvegea) is the largest town in the municipality of Weststellingwerf in the province of Friesland (Fryslan), in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 13,090 in 2021. Wolvega is the capital and largest town ...

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 1888 and is in 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 ...

History

''Windlust'' was built in 1888 on the site of a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

. A new base was built; the smock having previously stood at

Mijdrecht Mijdrecht is a town in the Netherlands with about 16,000 residents. It is located in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of De Ronde Venen, about west of the main A2 motorway (Netherlands), A2 motorway, between Utrecht (city), Utr ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, where the mill was a

drainage mill A windpump is a type of windmill which is used for pumping water. Windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The use of wind pumps became widespread across the Muslim world an ...

. The work was done by

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 ...

Visser of

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 for Wibe Hooisma. On 31 August 1893, the mill was sold to Mhr. Hulscher. The mill was sold to Jan de Jong in 1896. He sold it to Bulsma van der Woude in 1902. The mill was sold to Arie Nijkerk in 1925. It was bought by C A F Oldeberkoop on 1 October 1930. He employed Ebbel Lenstra as miller. A diesel engine was installed in 1937, but it went out of use during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

due to a lack of available fuel. Oldeberkoop owned the mill until 1943, when it was bought by the Gemeente Westellingwerf. Out of use as a mill, the local fire brigade utilised it for drying their hoses. Following storm damage in 1971, the mill was restored to working order. A replacement pair of millstones was acquired from

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

in 1982. Also in that year, a crusher was acquired from a German

watermill 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 ...

. ''Windlust'' is listed as a

, № 39437.

Description

''Windlust'' is what the Dutch describe as a "Stellingmolen". It is a smock mill on a brick base. The stage is 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 Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

, fitted with the Fok system on their leading edges. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft'', which was cast by the IJzergieterij Weduwe A Sterkman en Zoon,

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 ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

in 1861. The ''windshaft'' also carries the ''brake wheel'' which has 69 teeth. This drives the ''wallower'' (35 teeth) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' is the ''great spur wheel'', which has 120 cogs. The ''great spur wheel'' drives a pair of diameter Cullen

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s via a ''lantern pinion stone nut'' which has 29 staves. A pair of French Burr millstones is driven via a ''lantern pinion stone nut'' which has 29 staves. It formerly drove a third pair of millstones.

Millers

The following people have been millers in Windlust: *Wibe Hooisma (1888–93) *Mhr. Hulscher (1893–96) *Jan de Jong (1896-1902) *Bulsma van de Woude (1902–25) *Arie Bijkerk (1925–30) *Ebbel Lenstra (1930–37)

Public access

''Windlust'' is open to the public on Saturday between 08:00 and 11:30, or by appointment.

References

{{Dutch Windmills Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1888 Smock mills in the Netherlands Grinding mills in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands