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Not every trip goes according plan but sometimes the
greater plan (by which I mean the way things turn out in the
end) turns-out to exceed the original intention. Today
was a classic example ! We set off to visit the
National Trust property "Claydon
House" in Buckinghamshire.
Most National Trust premises open at 10am on summer weekends but
we arrived at Claydon House to discover that it opens at 1pm.
We returned to the beautiful village of Quainton in the hope of finding
a coffee shop, scenic walk, and pleasant views. Having just passed
through Quainton for the first time about 15 minutes earlier, we thought
it looked pretty and worth a short visit. We had much under-estimated
both Quainton and its most interesting landmark.
While pausing at the Quainton Cross (used in previous centuries by
monks and other preachers), we noticed a sign displayed on the unfinished
railings around the balcony part-way up the windmill behind us. It
read simply:
"Mill Open".
This was an under-stated invitation. With cautious curiosity we
ventured along the simple path/driveway towards the
bottom of
the
windmill.
The door was wide open and the interior dark and unattended, but
well-organised. Signs on the table stated the entrance
fee. Laid out across the rest of the table was a range of
interesting, yet inexpensive, souvenirs for sale. These included
postcards, a cardboard pack of materials to make one's own scale
model of this
windmill, and a fantastic technical line drawing poster of the 7
levels of
the windmill - complete with detailed labels of all the working-parts
(drawn by Patrick Tooms, 1989).
Above us were men's voices, possibly those of other visitors. Cautiously, we climbed the staircase to the First Floor of the windmill.
The mechanical components of the mill were visible and in working
order. From a technical point-of-view, interest increased as one continued
up the structure. Unfortunately it was not possible to see
the workings at the highest level of the windmill (such as
the neck bearing, windshaft, brake wheel and other mechanical parts of the
brake
structure,
and the luffing gear - all of which are which are on the "Dust Floor" inside
the cap) which was not open to
the
public. Nevertheless, the other components were visible and demonstrated the
painstaking work that has gone into reconstructing this impressive and
functional
structure.
Our visit was made even more interesting by the opportunity to meet and talk
with craftsmen working on this historic building. One member
of their dedicated team took some time out to tell us about the restoration
of Quainton Windmill. This is the most impressive part of all: When the restoration
project began in the early 1970s (they have postcards
for sale dating from this time), the structure had only a bare earth floor
at ground level and no upperfloors in place at all. The structure was derelict
with only
one part of a single sail remaining and the sky visible from the ground floor
of the brick structure.
No-one could see the Quainton Windmill as it stands in June 2007
without appreciating the huge technical acheivement of converting a derelict
ruin into a
powerful working machine
capable of grinding grain into flour using only the power of the wind (despite
the fact that the structure is badly positioned for this purpose - being part-way
down a hill, rather than ideally placed at the top of the hill). However, in
my
opinion,
an even greater achievement is that of having the vision and dedication both
to take-on such a huge task, and to continue to develop it successfully for
over thirty years. Considering the scale of the task and the time involved,
one can imagine that there must have been challenges of every type along the
way - fund-raising, planning issues, other legislative and safety issues, technical
challenges, personnel/skills needed, time away from family, and the many other
day-to-day issues of the type that arise with any major project.
[Continued
... more photos.]
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