James Clark, who is a grandson of Stuart George, maintenance volunteer at the mill, took these outstanding aerial shots of Heage Windmill during our last Tractor Day.
Aerial Photos of Tractor Day
Tag: heage
Windmill receives Best Volunteer Project award
Heage Windmill has won Best Volunteer Project in the Derbyshire Heritage Awards for its Trouble at Mill Appeal (TAMA).
The award honours the magnificent efforts made by volunteers at Heage to get the windmill quickly back in action after wet rot was discovered in the cap structure.
The event was attended by Angela Ward, Chair of the Friends of the windmill, Lynn Allen representing the fundraising team and Alan Clark, who was one of operations team, both teams being set up to deal with the emergency following the discovery of wet rot in August 2015.
As Angela reports: ‘It was quite nail biting as I think we were in the most contested category and I believe there may have been 6 or 7 worthy contenders. When Andy Potter (Radio Derby) announced the winners as Heage Windmill, I felt so privileged to represent the Friends & Volunteers of the Mill, such an excellent team of hardworking, committed and enthusiastic people who give their time freely to ensure that the ‘Old Lady’ keeps turning for everyone to enjoy. The award was just the icing on the cake after a demanding time getting her better!’
The award plaque will be on permanent display as soon as this can be organised.
Cobweb Day
In what has now become a tradition, Heage Windmill was once again put to rest for the winter by the spinning of a spider’s web.
Volunteers turned up to assist in the spinning of the web, working under the instructions of our ‘Queen Spider’ (Lynn Allen).
It’s always amazing to see the strands of 
knicker elastic grow rapidly and eventually emerge as a complex web, large enough to ensure the mill will be well protected through the cold winter months.
The Sails Turn in Celebration
On a perfect, blue sky, breezy Sunday, Heage Windmill Society held a memorable event to celebrate the completion of mill repairs.
For the first time ever the mill was closed to the general public for just the afternoon in order that the Trustees could properly thank all those who had contributed to the repairs being accomplished after severe wet rot was discovered nine months ago.
Unfortunately, as many donors had not given contact details, the Trustees were not able to invite everyone but still wished to offer a huge thank you for their vital contributions.
Chairman of the Heage Windmill Society Piers Bostock welcomed the invited group of over 120 people attending the event.
They largely consisted of groups and individuals who had helped in any way – by donations, effort or time – in the concentrated fundraising period.
The donations came from all over the country – including a few fellow mills – along with some international help.
Piers especially thanked the local businesses who had contributed by either providing facilities or work space.
He thanked Neil Medcalf from Traditional Millwrights, who carried out the major repairs but he particularly full of the praise for the mill volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of work over the last eight months, fund raising or working on the repairs.
It was their efforts, he said, that meant the repair had been completed in less than nine months and for which the costs were largely covered.
Other Speakers included: Robert Kirkland, representing Bowmer and Kirkland; Cllr Steve Freeborn (Chair of Derbyshire County Council) as the mill owner; plus local MP Nigel Mills.
All of them praised the mill volunteers for their concerted efforts to bring this now famous Derbyshire landmark back to life again.
During Piers’ speech, Founder Trustee Alan Gifford ceremoniously cut the fund raising wristbands worn by both Piers and volunteer Lynn Allen to symbolise the end of the fundraising period.
The windmill was decorated with bunting, strung between the sails, which turned slowly in the gentle breeze.
A full hog roast, and other refreshments, including two huge iced fruit cakes – one of which was decorated with the image of the windmill – was then enjoyed by all.
The Derventio Choir sang their hearts out in the background, providing lovely entertainment, enjoyed by all.
A truly memorable day.
Flowers at the Mill
Once again, Heage windmill supported the local church, St. Luke’s, in their annual flower festival, to celebrate the onset (we hope!) of summer.
The display in St Luke’s on behalf of the Mill were all done by Celia Straw and Ruth Vickerstaff. Thanks to all who contributed – as these photos show, there were wonderful displays everywhere.
Heage Windmill attracts 30 vintage tractors
Heage Windmill celebrated National Mills Weekend, co-ordinated by SPAB (Society for Protection of Ancient buildings), by staging its always popular Tractor Day.
The sun shone all day so it was pleasantly warm for the big crowd of visitors who came to the mill.
On site was a very wide range of some 30 vintage tractors, most of which had been lovingly restored.
There was also a large gathering of stationary engines, some of which were working.
In a tent, the Nunsfield Radio club was hard at work, making contact with numerous other similar groups located at other mills also open over the weekend.
In addition the Friends of Heage Windmill ran a fund raising bric a brac stall which attracted a lot of interest and helped the restoration funds.
Also on display were the refurbished sails, waiting to be fitted, and some of the large rotten timbers which had caused the mill to stop working and producing flour.
Replacements have already been fitted and although some more work still is needed, it is getting closer to the date when the sails will turn again.
Cream Teas & Cake Event Raises £300
Many of the good folks of Crich look down onto the windmill at Heage and enjoy seeing her working- not standing like a pepper pot with no sails!
A group of the members of the Trefoil Guild and Muddlealong Groups therefore decided to do something to help restore her back to her former glory. They organised a cream tea and cakes event, with some side stalls , and between them raised the admirable sum of £300 pounds for the Trouble at Mill Appeal.
A cheque was duly presented at the mill to Lynn Allen (Friends of Windmill) by Hazel Pilgrim, with her colleagues Margaret Upton , Di Fretwell and Stella Gill in attendance with Meg Tarlton (Sec. Heage Windmill Trust) looking on.
Lynn said: ‘We are always so grateful for all contributions to the repair fund. Getting the windmill back to working order cannot come quickly enough for us.’
We were also presented with some excellent woodcuts and paintings of local windmills (including our own, of course) by a well known local artist, which will be framed and shortly offered for sale in the mill visitor centre. Another donation which will raise funds for the repairs!
Flower Festival
The final weekend in June once again saw magnificent flower displays inside the windmill to celebrate the Flower Festival in Heage. These displays were all made up by Friends of Heage Windmill volunteers.
Below is a gallery of photos.
Alan approved as flour miller
Controlling and operating a 200 year old machine is not a task for the faint hearted. Apart from learning how to using the various controls for the sails and other machinery, they have to learn to observe the weather, especially the wind, as its direction and force are essential factors to the safe operations of the mill.
Everyone who ‘drives’ Heage Windmill undergoes a lengthy training period and then has to pass a practical ‘exam’ before he or she is permitted to be in sole control of the windmill. However those millers who seek to produce the renowned Heage flours, using the traditional mill stones, still has to continue to gain more experience. The miller is now producing a ‘foodstuff’ so, apart from learning how to operate the mill stones and the feed and processing gear, he/she now has to ensure compliance to numerous regulations, something which the old-time miller never even knew about.
Retired Rolls-Royce engineer Alan Eccleston, who lives in nearby Lower Hartshay, has just met all these exacting requirement and over the weekend was awarded his ‘Flour Miller Certificate’ by Piers Bostock, Chairman of Heage Windmill Society. In making the award Piers said ‘He was delighted to welcome Alan as a fully qualified person who could mill grain into flour –there are not many of them.’ Alan on his part said: ‘Ever since becoming a volunteer at the mill I have aspired to be able to mill and I am now delighted to join the elite group of qualified windmillers here at Heage’.
Don’t forget: Flour is normally on sale every weekend at the windmill, although sometimes lack of wind deems otherwise!
Photos of Vintage Tractors & Brough Bikes
Heage Windmill celebrated National Mills weekend by welcoming vintage tractors, ‘superior’ motorbikes and a radio club. In spite of the showers, visitors turned up in their numbers to enjoy the vintage transport.
The vintage tractors are a popular annual attraction and it was a pleasure for visitors to see such gleaming, beautifully restored tractors on display alongside their proud owners.
We also had a first-time visit from the Brough Superior Bikes Group, based in Winster. On display were some of the few Brough Superiors remaining in this country. Some of them have been known to fetch up to £250,000.
These vintage bikes, which were manufactured in the East Midlands between 1919 and 1940, were dubbed the ‘Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles.’ One famous owner – he had 7 – was Lawrence of Arabia.
We are delighted to learn that some of the Brough Superior Bikes Group hope to return for our Classic Bike Event on Sunday, July 27th.
We also enjoyed a visit from the Nunsfield Radio Club who set up portable transmitters over the weekend so they could contact similar groups at mills all over the UK. Ouor thanks to the Group for donation to the windmill.
Below is a gallery of photos taken by Anthony Sharp. Click on any image to view it larger.
