An introduction to Holgate Windmill
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Brief history
Grain
Setting up to
mill on wind
Machinery in
action
Milling
Bagging and
sales
Frequently asked
questions
Brief history
The mill was built by George Waud in 1770, and was the first mill on the site. It was one floor lower, and would have had very little metal equipment: wood was the order of the day.
In the late 1850s/early 1860s a big investment was made by the then owner Joseph Peart, and a serious upgrade undertaken. This involved the raising of the tower by 8’ 9”, the addition of a steam engine and chimney, and the installation of the cast-iron machinery seen today.
The mill worked continuously between 1770 and 1933. From then it stood empty and decaying until the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society was formed in 2001, and the restoration was completed in 2012.
Grain
We buy grain a tonne at a time, and it is delivered to the mill in 25kg (wheat) and 20kg (spelt) sacks. It is carried into the mill and taken up to the 3rd floor (the Dust Floor) using the sack hoist. This is a continuous loop of chain which passes through 3 sets of trap doors. It is then stacked and stored.
On the Dust Floor are three holes cut in the floorboards, which lead to a chute for each of the sets of milling stones. Using a wooden cradle, the grain is poured down the chutes, passing through the bins on the floor below and into the hoppers above the milling stones.
Videos
Setting up to mill
on wind
Inside the cap, the millers remove the spragging (long planks of wood placed through the Brake Wheel and resting on cross beams), and lower two sets of chains: one for operating the brake, and the other the looped striking gear chain for opening and closing the shutters in the sails. A wooden chock is also removed to allow the striking mechanism to move.
On the way down the mill, on the Stones Floor, the stone nuts are engaged with the Great Spur Wheel.
Then from outside the building, the miller releases the brake, closes the shutters, hangs a weight on the striking chain and lets the wind turn the sails.
Videos
Machinery in action
Up in the cap, the great vertical brake wheel behind the sails turns, and connects with the horizontal ‘wallower’ gear on top of the drive shaft, which takes the wind power down to the Stones Floor, where the central spur wheel drives the stone nuts, which turn the runner stones.
The video below shows the first time both sets of wind-powered stones were run at once since, probably, some time in the 1930s.
Videos
Milling
The grain drops through into the shoe, and is shaken into the eye of the stone, where it is transformed into flour. Each pair of stones has a fixed bed stone and a ‘runner’ stone on top. The grain passes between them and is cut by the sharp edges on the surfaces of both stones, emerging as fine flour – or coarse flour if the gap between the stones is set a little wider. Setting this gap (or tentering) is controlled from the ground floor.
Inside the wooden casing, the movement of the runner stone takes the flour round until it is above a hole in the floor above a chute which delivers the flour to the sack below.
The miller can put a hand into the flour as it falls, and gauge its quality.
If the wind blows, milling will be done by wind power. If there is no wind we employ the electric motor to turn one set of stones.
Videos
Bagging and sales
Bagging the flour is done by hand and is one of the biggest jobs on a milling day. Flour is carefully weighed (plus a little extra) and the bags are sealed with tape for the smaller ones or with the stitcher for larger ones (5kg and more). Each bag is marked with a best before date, 6 months from the milling date. It also bears codes to tell us which tonne of grain was used, and which pair of stones it came through.
Holgate flour is sold from the shop on the ground floor when the mill is open.
Orders can be placed online for 5kg bags of grain to be collected, usually on Saturday.
We also supply a number of commercial outlets in the York area: some buy bulk flour for their own baking, some retail our bagged flour, and some do both.
Maintenance
Once a month, David Andrews, our visiting millwright, spends a full day at the mill together with one or two volunteers to support him. His work falls into two main areas. There is a detailed programme of regular maintenance, involving oiling, greasing, adjusting and tightening the various elements of the mechanism.
The other element is the repair work. We are on a constant look-out for wear and tear, especially in the external woodwork. This has to be checked regularly and then repaired or replaced as necessary.
Videos
Frequently asked questions (1)
Why aren’t the sails turning?
Either there isn’t enough wind, or we haven’t enough experienced volunteers present.
Why is the mill on a roundabout?
The mill was built on a small rise and when the estate was created in the 1930s, a roundabout was made around it to enable a road to be built.
How often do you mill flour?
Usually twice a week, on Wednesday and Friday mornings.
What speed of wind do you need? Is it ever too windy?
The sails need about 10 mph to move (‘run light’). If one set of stones is engaged it has to be about 15 mph, and another 4-5 mph for two sets of stones. It can be too windy: winds above 35/40 mph are the limit, and we avoid milling when the wind comes in sudden gusts.
Is milling noisy? Do your neighbours mind?
Milling by wind is pretty quiet – just a gentle rumble, which cannot be heard outside the mill.
When was the mill built?
The mill was built in 1770, and raised to its present height in 1859/60.
Why has the mill got five sails?
Research by the 18th century engineer, John Smeaton, suggested that 5 sails were the optimum for wind power. Multi-sailed mills became popular in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Now there are only four 5-sailed mills left.
Frequently asked questions (2)
When did the mill go out of production?
The mill closed in 1933 – the last mill in York to do so. The sails had been badly damaged in a storm in January 1930 and it struggled on using an electric motor.
The invention (in Germany and Hungary in the 1850s) and gradual spread of larger capacity roller mills steadily put smaller wind and water mills out of business. In York it was Leetham’s flour mill, now Rowntree Wharf, which closed a year before Holgate. The local roller mills were in turn overtaken by huge roller mills at the ports, e.g. Rank Hovis at Hull, which could process imported grain straight from the ships.
Where does your grain come from?
Currently (2023) our wheat comes from a farm near Howden in East Yorkshire, and our spelt is grown in Northumberland.
Who owns the mill? How much does it cost to look after?
The mill building is owned by the City of York Council. The HWPS pays only a peppercorn rent and has complete control over its operation.
The cost varies a lot, according to what repairs are needed. Regular basic maintenance costs around £3,000 per annum, but repainting the exterior every few years has cost as much as £18,550.
How tall is the mill?
The brick mill tower is 45ft high. It is about 85ft to the top of the upright sail.
Frequently asked questions (3)
What’s the black ball on the top?
The ball finial is a traditional way of finishing off and sealing the apex of the cap against water ingress. It holds together the oak spars that make the ogee shape of the cap. It is a hollow metal ball, and contains a time-capsule from 2009.
How much do the millstones weigh?
About a ton each – give or take.
How did the millstones get into the mill?
A stone would be placed on edge and rolled to below where it was needed. A few floorboards would be taken out and it would be lifted with straps and block and tackle.
Do millstones wear out? How long before they need re-cutting?
Millstones wear out in direct relation to how much they are used. Stones in constant use might need re-cutting (the grooves sharpening) three or four times a year. We have only had to re-cut two pairs of stones, once each, since we began to mill in 2012.
What do the sails weigh?
About a ton each – give or take.
What does the fantail do?
The fantail drives the cap around so that the sails are always facing into the wind. (See the diagram in ‘Hidden Workings of Holgate Windmill’, on display in the mill.)
Frequently asked questions (4)
How do the shutters work?
The shutters are controlled by a looped chain, let down from the cap, below the fantail. It operates the ‘striking gear’ which opens and closes all 200 shutters together. (See the diagram in ‘Hidden Workings of Holgate Windmill’, on display in the mill.)
What is the big wooden shaft on the dust floor for?
It is the topmost (and oldest) of the three sections of the vertical drive shaft. They are connected by dog-clutches and they take the power of the sails down the mill to turn the stones.
If the fantail is moving why don't the sails go round at the same time?
The two mechanisms are completely separate. The fantail turns the cap so that the sails are kept facing the wind. When the brake is released and the shutters are closed, the wind takes the sails round.
How much did the restoration cost and how long did it take?
The restoration cost a little over £500,000. However, that does not include work done by York City Council to strengthen the tower, and a great deal of voluntary work by HWPS members, notably making the shutters and some of the woodwork, such as the grain bins on the Bin Floor. Altogether it took nearly 10 years to complete the restoration.
How long does it take to grind a sack of grain into flour? How much do you mill in a day / year?
Wind speeds can vary and make a difference to the time taken. At best, a 25kg sack of wheat will go through in about 30 minutes. - We mill to demand – typically between 25kg and 100kg per milling session. We currently mill around 3 or 4 tonnes per year. During the first year of Covid we milled 7 tons – other flour was scarce in the shops.
Frequently asked questions (5)
How many people do you need to work the mill?
In its heyday, the mill would usually have been worked by a single miller. We operate (for safety reasons) with a minimum of two experienced millers, and tend to work in milling and flour bagging teams of 3 or 4.
What is spelt? Why is spelt flour more expensive than wheat?
Spelt is an ancient form of wheat, much favoured by the Romans for its flavour and highly nutritious qualities. It is now genetically distinct from modern wheats.
It is more expensive for two reasons: it has a lower yield per acre than modern wheats, and it needs to go through two de-husking processes before milling.
Why don’t you sell white or brown flour?
In order to make white flour, we would have to have a boulter, or separator, to sieve out the bran. These are large machines and we have no room for one. We produce pure stone-ground wholemeal flour, which retains all the best of the high quality, high protein grain we mill.
Did the miller live in the mill?
No, this building is purely a machine for making flour. There was a mill house a short distance from the mill.
How many volunteers are there?
We have about 40 volunteers, carrying out a whole range of activities including milling, maintenance, administration, guiding visitors, running social and community events, mounting exhibitions and keeping archives. More volunteers are always welcome.