Name: Quainton Windmill
Rating: 5.0

Quainton Windmill

Quainton Windmill, Quainton, Aylesbury, UK

1-99 Years

Paid

Description

Quainton is a picturesque village in Buckinghamshire located between Aylesbury and Bicester, close to Waddesdon Manor. When in the village you can also visit the George and Dragon public house and coffee shop, The Village Store, the 14th Century church, and the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

Sample the breath-taking stunning views across the village to the Chiltern Hills from the elevated viewing gallery. Observe the original machinery and working parts in motion. Learn about our windmill’s history, including its past and present restorations. Consider taking the 70 step Challenge to the top floor and back to earn a Certificate of Achievement.

Prices starts from £10.00 for Individual annual membership. If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.

Features

Paid
Host birthday parties: No

Features

Floating Cap: The cap and its contents are not attached to the brick tower. It floats on top of the building so it can rotate 360°, it rotates on roller bearings (like rolling pins).
Fantail: The fantail is perhaps the least appreciated part of the windmill, it moves the 12 ton cap through 360° to keep the sails facing the wind.
Headframe: The headframe is a rectangular platform made from large dimension oak timbers. At one end it supports the weight of the sails and at the other the fantail and its frame.
Bearings: At the top of the brickwork are 24 cast iron tapered roller bearings (like rolling pins) that enable the cap to move freely around the top of the brick tower.
The Cross and Brakewheel: The sails are fixed to the large cross which protrudes from the cap. The cross is attached to the brakewheel which sits above the centre of the mill.
Brakewheel: The 2.75 meter diameter wheel is made of cast iron with wooden teeth. They are made with wood that has a wavy grain such as apple, pear or oak beam; wood with a wavy grain does not split on impact.
Wallower: As the brakewheel rotates it meshes into another cogged wheel, the wallower, which powers the equipment on the various floors of the mill.
Metal on Wood contact: Within the windmill, inter-connecting cogs will have metal on wood contact. The drive shaft has 120 teeth made out of wood which mesh with the metal teeth of the wallower.
Sails: Each of the four sails weighs approximately one ton and has 42 moveable white panels called shutters. All 168 shutters on the mill are connected and can be moved through 90 degrees.
Spider: In the centre of the sails is a large black cross which is called the spider, this links all four sails to allow all of the shutters to open and close simultaneously.
Striking Chain: On the gallery is the striking chain which is the chain mechanism used by the mill operator to open and close the shutters.
Millstones: The grain is fed from bins on the floor above via a chute into the centre of the two flat millstones.
Great Spur Wheel: This is on the floor below directly under the millstones and is driven by the mechanism in the cap; it provides power to many working operations in this area.
Cranked Handle: This is below the beam and is used to engage the drive for the runner stone when the sails are not turning.
Tentering Gear: The butterfly handle lifts and lowers the heavy runner stone when milling is in progress, i.e. it controls the quality of the flour.
Governor: A set of spinning balls that use centrifugal force to act on levers to keep the gap between the grinding stones constant as the wind changes speed.
Sack Hoist: Local farmers would bring sacks of grain to be milled into flour. The sacks were pulled up to the top of the mill by the sack hoist.
Sieving and bagging the flour: On the second floor the flour would be sieved and graded using a wire machine driven by belts from the floor above.