Elphin Windmill

Elphin Windmill
Origin
Mill name Elphin Windmill
Mill location 53°51′07″N 8°12′19″W / 53.85188°N 8.2053°W / 53.85188; -8.2053Coordinates: 53°51′07″N 8°12′19″W / 53.85188°N 8.2053°W / 53.85188; -8.2053
Year built c.1730
Information
Purpose Corn and flax milling
Type Tower mill
Storeys Three storey tower
Number of sails Four sails
Type of sails Common sails
Winding Tailpole

Elphin Windmill is a fully restored 18th-century tower mill in Elphin, County Roscommon, viewed as a rare piece of Irish industrial architectural heritage,[1] and possibly the oldest operational windmill in Ireland.[2]

History

Elphin windmill is a circular, three-stage windmill, dating from around 1730.[1] It was built by Edward Synge, a local landowner and Bishop of Elphin.[3] The mill provided corn meal for the local people,[4] as well as milling flax.[2]

The windmill has four timber sails and unusually the rotating roof is thatched, originally in rye. The timber tail pole is connected from the roof to a cart wheel on the ground guided with a groove, which was used to change the direction of the sails.[1][5]

Current use

The windmill had fallen into ruins by 1830. It was extensively renovated over the course of three years, starting in 1996, by a FÁS scheme and Elphin Area Community Enterprise Ltd.[1] The interior was reconstructed using wood.[2] The windmill is now fully functional, and was officially opened to the public in 2000[4] by actor Gabriel Byrne.[2]

There is a modern addition of a small building, known as Windmill Cottage, that houses a visitor's centre.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Elphin Windmill, Windmill Road, Elphin, County Roscommon". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Restoration of windmill puts wind in sails of Elphin". The Irish Times. 23 June 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. Rynne, Colin (2003). "Development of Milling Technology in Ireland, c.600-1875". In Bielenberg, Andy. Irish Flour Milling: A History 600-2000. Dublin: The Lilliput Press. p. 27. ISBN 1843510197.
  4. 1 2 "Elphin, Co Roscommon windmill, Ireland". Windmill World. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  5. Hamond, Fred; McMahon, Mary. "Recording and Conserving Ireland's Industrial Heritage: An Introductory Guide" (PDF). Heritage Council. Retrieved 11 June 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.