De Weert 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 ...

Meppel Meppel (; Drents: ''Möppelt'') is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It constitutes the southwestern part of the province of Drenthe. Meppel is the smallest municipality in Drenthe, with a total area of about . As of 1 July ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

, the

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 ...

. It was built in 1998 and 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 ...

, number 526385. (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view.)

History

''De Weert'' is one of two survivors of over 20 windmills in Meppel. The predecessor of the current mill was built in 1807. This mill was known as the ''Eekmolen'' and it was used as a bark mill in the tanning industry. It was also known as ''De Reest'', taking this name from the nearby river. (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view.) The mill was a smock mill with a brick base and a stage. In 1825, the mill was owned by Messrs Dassen and Tenwolde. Albertus Dassen died and the mill passed to his widow. Circa 1860 the mill came into the possession of Abraham Roelink. In 1862, he had the mill altered so that it also ground wheat and produced

pearl barley Pearl barley, or pearled barley, is barley that has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and polished to remove some or all of the bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting o ...

. Subsequent owners were W T Eilerts, Mr de Haan, L Pasman, E P Pasman (the mill the being known as ''Pasman's Molen'') and then the Haandrikman family. The mill was worked until 1935 and demolished in 1937 leaving the base standing. The mill was in good condition at the time of demolition but was demolished on account of the high maintenance and insurance costs. The mill worked three pairs of millstones. In 1993, Meppel resident Henk Meijerink proposed that the mill should be rebuilt. The plan was supported by Giska Eisma, an architecture student from

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

. The idea was put to Alderman Jan Oldebesten, who agreed that it should be done. A new smock would be placed on the surviving brick base. The ''Schuilenberger Molen'' near Hellendoorn,

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 ...

was to be demolished in 1994. It was decided to rebuild the ''Schuilenberger Molen'' at Meppel. The base was repaired and made for the mill. On 8 July 1998, the smock was placed on the base. The

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'') ...

was Johannes Kooistra from Sloten. The official opening was scheduled for summer 1998 but was postponed as Henk Meijerink died shortly before the ceremony was due to take place. The mill was officially opened on 13 May 1999. The mill is used to train new millers.

Description

''De Weert'' is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante stellingmolen". It is a three-storey smock mill on a two-storey base. The stage is at second-floor level, 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 a tailpole and winch. The four Common sails have streamlined leading edges on the Fok system. They have a span of are carried in a cast-iron ''windshaft''. This was cast by Fabrikaat Hardinxveld in 1997. The ''windshaft'' also carries the clasp arm ''brake wheel'', which has 59 cogs. The ''brake wheel'' drives the ''wallower'' (29 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' the ''great spur wheel'', which has 85 cogs, drives the diameter French Burr millstones via ''lantern pinion stone nut'' which has 26 staves. The millstones are driven overdrift.

Public access

''De Weert'' is open on Saturdays from 13:00 to 18:00.

References

External links

Schuilenberger MolenVideo of the restoration of the mill
(10m 18s) {{DEFAULTSORT:Weert, Meppel Windmills in Drenthe Smock mills in the Netherlands Windmills completed in 1998 Rijksmonuments in Drenthe Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands De Weert, Meppel