Wrawby Postmill sits high on the ridge in Wrawby village on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, overlooking the Ancholme valley. It was one of two mills in the village used to grind grain for local tenant farmers.
It was an ideal site and the mill was often able to work when other local mills were left idle due to lack of wind. The mill could be worked by one man, possibly helped by his son.
The mill was built between 1760-1790 by the Elwes family, who were major landowners, and is an example of an early type of windmill that was once common across the UK. It is one of the last workable Post Mills in the East Midlands.
The mill was sold in 1919 and was bought by Mr Andrew, who lived in the village and had been the tenant miller since 1886. The mill was in use until 1940 when damage to one of the sails made it unusable. Loss of skilled labour and lack of suitable materials meant the mill could not be repaired. It was left derelict.
The family continued to grind grain until the late 1940s using an oil engine installed in a warehouse across the lane to drive the millstones.
The owner applied to have the mill demolished in the 1960s. Instead, he donated the mill and access land to the Wrawby Windmill Preservation Society who have completely restored the mill with new sails. The last operating millstones were retained and reinstated and a second hand peak stone was obtained from a mill in Market Rasen.
Wrawby has the distinction of being one of the first windmills in the country to be preserved and open to the public.
How Post mill works
(This diagram is taken with their permission, from the 'Welcome to Wrawby Mill Visitor Information' leaflet.)
In a post mill, the body of the mill is supported on and revolves around a large central upright post. The body of the mill (the buck) can be turned so the sails face into the direction of the wind.
The miller had to do this by pushing a long arm known as the tail pole, on the opposite side to the sails. When being moved, the steps are lifted clear of the ground by a lever called a talther.
Some mills had a wheel at the end of the in tail making it easier to move. Later mills added a fantail to the end of the tail pole. This detected changes in wind direction and automatically rotated the sails to face the changing wind. This led to the development of the Tower Mill with the fantail on the cap of the mill.
The central post is supported by four massive quarter bars and cross trees.
In Wrawby mill, these struts are enclosed by a brick roundhouse that acted as extra storage space as well as protecting the timbers from the weather. Cast iron rollers around the top of the round house steady the top and allow it to move more easily.
A weighing balance is attached to one of the cross trees in the roundhouse.
The bags of grain were hoisted up to the top of the mill by a pulley system through one way trap doors.
Through most of its working life, Wrawby mill had two common and two spring sails, giving a combination of power and flexibility.
Common sails were the simplest form of sail with a sailcloth spread over a lattice framework. Depending on the speed of the wind, the sail cloth had to be furled in or out and this could only be done by stopping the sails. The spring sail is divided into a number of shuttered bays and the degree of opening of the shutters could be controlled by a spring.When the mill is not working, the shutters are fixed open to let the wind flow through them. When the sails are turning, the spring keeps the shutters closed.
External stairs lead to the first floor, the meal floor where sacks were filled with ground grain. The massive post runs up through the middle of the floor and wooden chutes bring the ground grain to be collected in sacks. The full sacks were then lowered or carried down the external stairs into waiting carts.
The tentering apparatus is found here.
A screw adjusts the height of the top millstone in the floor above. The governor is attached to the top stone. The faster the top millstone moves, the more it throws out the arms of the governor. These adjust the distance between the two stones, ensuring a consistent quality of flour regardless of the windspeed.
The top floor, the stone floor is reached by a very steep wooden stair. Wrawby Mill had two different sets of stones. The French stones were very finely grained, producing a finer grade of flour while the coarser grained sandstones were usually used for animal feed. The lower stone was stationary and only the top stone could turn.
The bags of grain were hauled up from the roundhouse using a pulley system.
They were then emptied into the grain hoppers. When the hoppers were full, the grain pressed the leather flap against the side of the hopper causing it to open the flap releasing the grain onto the mill stone.
A wooden paddle ( known as a damsel or clatterer from the noise it made) was constantly moving when the mill was working, shaking grain into the eye of the top millstone.
As the grain is ground it moved to the edge of the stones and was contained within the casing before being swept by the miller into the chute and the sacks on the floor below.
The speed of the upper stone is determined by the wind speed. Normally the speed of the stones can be adjusted by feeding more or less grain into the eye of the stone. If the wind speed gets too strong, the mill is stopped to furl in the sail cloths or to alter the spring tension on the shuttered sails.
A massive wooden band brake stops the movement of the front gear wheel, known as the brake wheel and hence the sails.
Wrawby Mill is open for a few days each year (details on their website) when volunteers are around to talk about the history of the mill and how it works.
Section through a post mill
Wrawby Windmill website
Video - how Wrawby windmill works
It was an ideal site and the mill was often able to work when other local mills were left idle due to lack of wind. The mill could be worked by one man, possibly helped by his son.
The mill was built between 1760-1790 by the Elwes family, who were major landowners, and is an example of an early type of windmill that was once common across the UK. It is one of the last workable Post Mills in the East Midlands.
The mill was sold in 1919 and was bought by Mr Andrew, who lived in the village and had been the tenant miller since 1886. The mill was in use until 1940 when damage to one of the sails made it unusable. Loss of skilled labour and lack of suitable materials meant the mill could not be repaired. It was left derelict.
The family continued to grind grain until the late 1940s using an oil engine installed in a warehouse across the lane to drive the millstones.
The owner applied to have the mill demolished in the 1960s. Instead, he donated the mill and access land to the Wrawby Windmill Preservation Society who have completely restored the mill with new sails. The last operating millstones were retained and reinstated and a second hand peak stone was obtained from a mill in Market Rasen.
Wrawby has the distinction of being one of the first windmills in the country to be preserved and open to the public.
How Post mill works
(This diagram is taken with their permission, from the 'Welcome to Wrawby Mill Visitor Information' leaflet.)
In a post mill, the body of the mill is supported on and revolves around a large central upright post. The body of the mill (the buck) can be turned so the sails face into the direction of the wind.
The miller had to do this by pushing a long arm known as the tail pole, on the opposite side to the sails. When being moved, the steps are lifted clear of the ground by a lever called a talther.
Some mills had a wheel at the end of the in tail making it easier to move. Later mills added a fantail to the end of the tail pole. This detected changes in wind direction and automatically rotated the sails to face the changing wind. This led to the development of the Tower Mill with the fantail on the cap of the mill.
The central post is supported by four massive quarter bars and cross trees.
In Wrawby mill, these struts are enclosed by a brick roundhouse that acted as extra storage space as well as protecting the timbers from the weather. Cast iron rollers around the top of the round house steady the top and allow it to move more easily.
A weighing balance is attached to one of the cross trees in the roundhouse.
The bags of grain were hoisted up to the top of the mill by a pulley system through one way trap doors.
Through most of its working life, Wrawby mill had two common and two spring sails, giving a combination of power and flexibility.
Common sails were the simplest form of sail with a sailcloth spread over a lattice framework. Depending on the speed of the wind, the sail cloth had to be furled in or out and this could only be done by stopping the sails. The spring sail is divided into a number of shuttered bays and the degree of opening of the shutters could be controlled by a spring.When the mill is not working, the shutters are fixed open to let the wind flow through them. When the sails are turning, the spring keeps the shutters closed.
External stairs lead to the first floor, the meal floor where sacks were filled with ground grain. The massive post runs up through the middle of the floor and wooden chutes bring the ground grain to be collected in sacks. The full sacks were then lowered or carried down the external stairs into waiting carts.
The tentering apparatus is found here.
A screw adjusts the height of the top millstone in the floor above. The governor is attached to the top stone. The faster the top millstone moves, the more it throws out the arms of the governor. These adjust the distance between the two stones, ensuring a consistent quality of flour regardless of the windspeed.
The top floor, the stone floor is reached by a very steep wooden stair. Wrawby Mill had two different sets of stones. The French stones were very finely grained, producing a finer grade of flour while the coarser grained sandstones were usually used for animal feed. The lower stone was stationary and only the top stone could turn.
The bags of grain were hauled up from the roundhouse using a pulley system.
They were then emptied into the grain hoppers. When the hoppers were full, the grain pressed the leather flap against the side of the hopper causing it to open the flap releasing the grain onto the mill stone.
A wooden paddle ( known as a damsel or clatterer from the noise it made) was constantly moving when the mill was working, shaking grain into the eye of the top millstone.
As the grain is ground it moved to the edge of the stones and was contained within the casing before being swept by the miller into the chute and the sacks on the floor below.
The speed of the upper stone is determined by the wind speed. Normally the speed of the stones can be adjusted by feeding more or less grain into the eye of the stone. If the wind speed gets too strong, the mill is stopped to furl in the sail cloths or to alter the spring tension on the shuttered sails.
A massive wooden band brake stops the movement of the front gear wheel, known as the brake wheel and hence the sails.
Wrawby Mill is open for a few days each year (details on their website) when volunteers are around to talk about the history of the mill and how it works.
Section through a post mill
Wrawby Windmill website
Video - how Wrawby windmill works
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