Metheringham Windmill

53°08′16″N 0°24′42″W / 53.1377°N 0.4116°W / 53.1377; -0.4116Year built1867InformationTypeTower millStoreysSix storeysNo. of sailsSix sailsType of sailsPatent sailsWindshaftCast ironNo. of pairs of millstonesFour pairs

Metheringham Windmill, locally known as The Old Meg Flour Mill, was a six-storeyed, six-sailed, and tarred slender Lincolnshire type windmill with the typical white ogee cap and fantail. The mill is derelict.

History

Metheringham Windmill was built in 1867 to be used to grind flour from grain.^[1] Located on a paddock at the eponymous village in North Kesteven south of Lincoln, it is one of the many tall brick-tower mills of Lincolnshire with a stage, now disused.

The mill was equipped with a complete iron gear, six Sutton Patent sails, which drove her four pairs of millstones,^[1] but was never prosperous.^{[citation needed]} She later lost up to four of her sails, which were not replaced. The remaining sails were juggled around for balance. Having started with 6 sails, she later ran with four, then two, and finally with three,^[2] finishing her sixty years of work around 1930. Until 1942, the mill could be viewed with its unique three sails design.^[1]

In the following years the remaining sails went, and after 1961 cap and windshaft followed.^[1] The tar coating is now wearing off the tower, giving a free view of the unusual banding in her brickwork of 205 courses.^{[citation needed]} Remains of the iron stage can still be found on the mill on the second floor, but in a bad condition because of the damage done by sail crashes.^[1]

There is no public right of access to the mill, so any remains of machinery inside the mill can't be examined.

References

Sources

• Dolman, Peter (1986). Lincolnshire Windmills, a contemporary survey. Lincoln: Lincolnshire County Council, Department of Recreational Services - Museums. ISBN 0 86111 126 5.
• Wailes, Rex (1954). The Windmills of England. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.