Historical Windmills

The oldest mill, 1600’s - the whole of the top is able to be rotated manually by pulley to face into the wind. Stone construction, as a house, at the bottom, timber above that.
The 1700’s mills were made mostly from stone with a rotating top. Built rather like a lighthouse, the stone mills are too heavy for the peat soil and are subject to sinking.
The 1800’s mills were mostly wooden and lighter on the peat soil. The upper wind mechanism works on a series of rollers underneath the mill cap.Read more