De Zwaluw, Oudemolen

De Zwaluw, Oudemolen
Noordenveld, September 2009
Origin
Mill name	De Zwaluw
Mill location	Molensteeg 8, 9484 TE, Oudemolen 53°03′13.39″N 6°38′41.51″E / 53.0537194°N 6.6448639°E
Operator(s)	Gemeente Tynaarlo
Year built	1837
Information
Purpose	Corn mill
Type	Smock mill
Storeys	Three-storey smock
Base storeys	One-storey base
Smock sides	Eight sides
Number of sails	Four sails
Type of sails	Common sails
Windshaft	Cast iron
Winding	Tailpole and winch
Number of pairs of millstones	Two pairs
Size of millstones	One pair Cullen stone 1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in) diameter

De Zwaluw (English: The Swallow) is a smock mill in Oudemolen, Drenthe, the Netherlands. It was built in 1837 and is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 38148.^[1]

History

De Zwaluw was built in 1837 by millwrights L Reinds of Beilen and B Sluter of De Groeve.^[2] The mill incorporated parts from a windmill at Schipborg which had been demolished.^[3] It replaced a post mill which itself had replaced a watermill on the Drentsche Aa river. The mill came into the ownership of the Greving family in 1876. It was worked by successive generations of the Greving family until 1947 when a sailstock broke.^[2]

In 1951, millwright Christiaan Bremer of Adorp, Groningen fitted a new cast-iron windshaft to replace the previous wooden one. This came from a windmill at Termunten, Groningen which had burnt down in 1944. A new pair of Patent sails was fitted at this time. The restored mill was officially opened on 27 September 1951. The mill was out of use from 1970 and in 1980 was purchased from the Greving family by the Gemeente Vries. A further restoration was undertaken in 1982.^[2] In 2008-09, further restoration work was carried out at the mill at a cost of €36,524.^[4]

Description

De Zwaluw is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante grondzeiler". It is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost to the ground. The smock and cap are thatched. The mill is winded by a tailpole and winch. The four Common sails have a span of 20.00 metres (65 ft 7 in) are carried in a cast-iron windshaft, which was cast by Fabrikaat Prins van Oranje of Den Haag, Zuid Holland in 1893.^[2] It has been lengthened by about 1 metre (39 in) for use in De Zwaluw.^[3] The windshaft also carries the brake wheel, which has 60 cogs. The brake wheel drives the wallower (31 cogs) at the top of the upright shaft. At the bottom of the upright shaft the great spur wheel, which has 79 cogs, drives the 1.40 metres (4 ft 7 in) diameter Cullen millstones via a lantern pinion stone nut which has 25 staves each.^[1] The millstones are driven overdrift. As of October 2009, the inner sail stock is the oldest surviving example made by Christiaan Bremer.^[3]

Public access

De Zwaluw is open on Saturdays from 11:00 to 16:00. During the summer months it is also open on Wednesdays from 14:00 to 16:00.^[5]

References

1. "Technische gegevens" (in Dutch). De Hollandsche Molen. Retrieved 3 October 2009. (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view.)
2. "Geschiedenis" (in Dutch). De Hollandsche Molen. Retrieved 3 October 2009. (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view.)
3. "Oudemolen, Drenthe" (in Dutch). Molendatabase. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
4. "Extra restauratiewerkzaamheden molen De Zwaluw te Oudemolen" (in Dutch). Krant van Drenthe. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
5. "Informatie" (in Dutch). De Hollandsche Molen. Retrieved 3 October 2009. (Click on "Informatie" to view.)

External links

• Photographs showing how the cast-iron windshaft was fitted in 1951.

Dutch Rijksmonument 38148