Ever since I first lived on the eastern side of our island I've had an interest in windmills. These buildings (or are they machines?) are distinctive, picturesque, fascinating in their technology and intricacies, and often quite beautiful. The first windmill that I had any sort of familiarity with was the one at Skidby in East Yorkshire. When I lived in that part of the world I often walked or cycled in the vicinity of the distinctive four-sailer on its hill-top site. Its black tower and white ogee cap and sails were a useful landmark as we made our way round the lanes and field paths of the Yorkshire Wolds near Hull.
I've been back to Skidby windmill since we left that part of the country, and I posted a photograph of it in 2006. We visited it again a while ago and had a look round the small museum-cum-visitor centre that has been established in the surrounding buildings and the lower floor of the mill. Unfortunately, on the day we called in we were unable to climb to the other floors. However, that didn't matter because only a few days earlier we'd been up and down the ladders of Sibsey Trader Mill (also a windmill) near Boston. We'd gone there so that my grand-daughter could see the home of "Baby Jake". When my children were small I knew about most of the TV programmes they watched, the characters, the story lines, etc. But now, at my great age, I am ignorant of such things so I had to be enlightened about this epic of toddlers' TV. I won't bore you with the details - this link summarises the show and this one will tell you much more than you will ever want to know. Suffice to say that a modified version of the windmill at Sibsey serves as the home of the baby, his brothers, sisters and his parents, and so is an obvious place of pilgrimage if you are a fan of "Baby Jake" and almost two years old.
This six-sailer is a fine example of the tower mill. It's a relatively late example too, being built in 1877. It gets its name from the Trader (or west Fen) Drain that it overlooks. It worked by wind until 1953 when it was abandoned. The structure was saved in 1970 and restored in 1981. It is now in the care of English Heritage. I took a few photographs on my recent visit though none so good as this one that I posted in 2011.
Goggi geeha to one and all!
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
