There I was, on my way to buy a pie and....

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vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I spotted something moving above the roof tops in Holgate Road in York. I parked up and investigated further and discovered this:



A working windmill on a roundabout surrounded by semi detached houses. How cool is that!

I wasn't that upset when I reached the pie shop later and found that it was closed. The windmill discovery more than compensated for the lack of pie.
 

Andy_R

Hard of hearing..I said Herd of Herring..oh FFS..
Location
County Durham
I wasn't that upset when I reached the pie shop later and found that it was closed.
Who are you and what have you done with Vernon?:gun:
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Coincidence!

NT and I went there yesterday. I knew about it, but hadn't seen it in working order.

Did you go in? The view from the top floor is fabulous. (And only £3 entry. Better view than from the top of the Minster Tower, because you can see the Minster! And Minster costs £££££)
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I didn't go in because it was a bit crowded inside. It's something that will keep as I pedal past the place quite often. I can't believe that I'd not spotted it before.

I thought that the roundabout outside my front door was pretty cool with its fox, hedgehog, woodpecker and owl population but a windmill takes some beating.

Postman also lives in a house facing this roundabout.

I reckon that theres room for at least four windmills here.....

Screen shot 2013-04-01 at 21.01.21.png
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Well worth going in, and if you can manage it, pick a windy day. When the sails are going round there's an immense sense of power. Yesterday they were only turning intermittently, so they weren't actually milling, but when the wind got up it was quite impressive, watching the sails go by the window. You can go right up top, and see the mechanism in the cap turning, and hear the creaking as the cap turns slightly with the wind. I'd never been in a working mill before, and was amazed.

We tend to think of the age of steam as the beginning of 'superhuman power', but forget that the wind was harnessed long before. Perhaps on a sailing ship you don't feel it the same, because you're being carried with it. Incidentally, they think it's possible that the main wooden shaft was a re-used ship's mast, from the days when the Ouse was a port for sea going ships.

There's a website:

http://www.holgatewindmill.org/index.htm

with the open weekends listed.

http://www.holgatewindmill.org/openday.htm

For Windy Miller fans: The Mill had another floor added by the Victorians, which raised the sails, improving the wind capture. It also had the benefit of placing the bottom of the sails above the height of the door. Apparently, mills often had sails sweeping past the door, and as the top turns with the wind, it was possible to not realize, step out, and be hit. When you see the size of the sails, and how fast they can turn, you can imagine the impact on a human....
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Looking back at the video that I took of the windmill operating today I noticed that the sails are rotating counter-clockwise. It doesn't seem natural. I wonder if all windmills rotate in the same direction....
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
<thinks>

Yes, they were counter-clockwise yesterday, assuming you mean when facing the sail-side.

I don't suppose it matters, as long as the sails are turned into the wind correctly. Apparently if the wind gets behind them, that's a Bad Thing.
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Mmmm... I could get sucked into researching windmill/grinding technology. I think the millstones only work in one direction.....

Nope I'm going to read my railway modelling purchases...
 

tadpole

Senior Member
Location
St George
Mmmm... I could get sucked into researching windmill/grinding technology. I think the millstones only work in one direction.....

Nope I'm going to read my railway modelling purchases...
The mill stones are 'dressed' to work only in one direction, as they turn they work the grain from the centre of the pair of stone to the edge of the stones, the Harp and the harp stings help feed the grain out towards the edge, slicing, then crushing and finally grinding the grain until it is the right size.
 
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