Thelnetham Windmill, also known as Button's Mill, is a Grade II* listed tower mill constructed of brick. The windmill is located at Thelnetham, Suffolk, England. It was built in the early nineteenth century to grind wheat into flour. Thelnetham windmill worked by wind power until 1924, latterly on two sails, after which it became derelict.
In 1979, a group of enthusiasts purchased Thelnetham windmill for restoration. Numerous volunteers helped to restore the mill to full working order over an eight-year period. The mill is open to the public, and flour ground at the mill can be bought at the site.
The mill is a small four storey tower mill with Patent sails and winded by a fantail. It drives two pairs of millstones, with a third pair driven by an auxiliary engine.
History
The earliest record of a windmill in Thelnetham was a post mill which was shown of Joseph Hodgkinson's map of Suffolk of 1778. In 1818, the post mill was moved to Sandy Lane, Diss, Norfolk
The post mill was replaced by a tower mill, which was built by millwright George Bloomfield for William Button in 1819. The mill was set to work on Christmas Day 1819. In 1832, the mill was modernised by the fitting of a cast-iron windshaft, Patent sails and a fantail. The new windshaft was fitted on 16 July 1832. It was made by J Aickman, the King's Lynn millwright, and weighs 1¾ tons (1,780 kg). A new stock was fitted in September 1836. William Button died on 11 February 1837. The mill passed jointly to his widow Rebecca and their son Richard. Richard Button worked the mill until 1860, at which date it was conveyed to his sons Richard and William, who sold it to Richard Peverett from Kenninghall, Norfolk in 1862.
The mill was worked by Stephen Peverett, Richard's son. He inherited the mill on the death of his father in 1875 and leased it to Henry Bryant in 1879. In 1884, the mill was sold by auction, and Henry Bryant purchased the freehold. Bryant rebuilt the floors of the mill. From 1892, a portable steam engine was used as auxiliary power, driving an extra pair of millstones on the ground floor. This was replaced in 1914 by a Hornsby oil engine. Bryant ran the mill until 1920 when he sold it to Alphonso Vincent, a retired millwright from Garboldisham, Norfolk. The Hornsby engine was sold in the early 1920s. The mill was tailwinded c1920, and as a result one pair of sails was removed. Vincent carried out some repairs to the mill and ran it until he retired in 1924. One of the remaining two sails was wrecked in 1926 when the mill was again tailwinded.If the wind is blowing from the opposite direction to that which the mill it is facing, the mill is tailwinded. In this situation a fantail will not be able to turn the mill into wind.
On the death of Alphonso Vincent in 1932, his son George inherited the property. He lived at the site in an old lorry until his death in 1973. The mill passed to his daughter, who sold it in 1974 to Mr and Mrs Humphries, who intended to convert it into a house. They later changed their minds and offered it for sale for restoration. In 1976, the cap of the mill was blown to pieces in a gale. Thelnetham windmill was purchased by five members of the Suffolk Mills Group in November 1979, and plans for restoration were made. The consortium consisted of Mark Barnard, Charles Dolman, Peter Dolman, David Pearce and Chris Seago. The derelict mill and an acre of land cost £6,000.
In 2013, the mill was gifted to the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust, which also owns Pakenham Watermill. On 14 July 2019, the bicentenary of the windmill was celebrated. The Locomobile lorry that George Vincent had lived in, now restored to its original army condition, was present. Also in 2019, the mill was used as a polling station during the European Parliament election in May, and in the General Election in December. The usual venue, Thelnetham Village Hall being unavailable due to it undergoing a major refurbishment.
Restoration
The mill was restored over a period of six years. Much of the work was carried out by enthusiasts who used working holidays to repair the mill.
1979–1980
The consortium took possession of the mill in November 1979. The first priority was to make the mill as weathertight as possible. Polythene sheets were spread on the dust floor of the mill to prevent further water penetration of the structure. The mill was surveyed and recorded. In spring 1980, the dust floor partially collapsed and was removed as a safety measure. Scaffolding was erected to allow the fanstage to be dismantled, and the cap centering wheels were removed in preparation for the removal of the cap frame.
A two-week work-in was held at the end of July and beginning of August 1980. Thirty-three volunteers worked on the mill over the work-in. Two new main floor beams for the dust floor were made from baulks of pitch pine which had previously been in a maltings at Bury St Edmunds. On 3 August 1980, the windshaft and remaining sail fragments were removed by a mobile crane, followed by the cap frame and the cast-iron curb sections.
New oak joists were laid on the dust floor and temporary boarding laid to provide a working platform for repairs to the top of the mill tower. The bin floor was removed, apart from one oak main beam which was repairable. A replacement main beam was made from pitch pine, and the oak beam was repaired. New oak joists were fitted, along with some salvaged from the original floor which were fit to be reused. One of these had previously been a whip from a Common sail. Some of the joists were made from pitch pine from the Eastbridge Windpump, which, following its collapse on 19 February 1977, had been re-erected at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. The sack hoist was dismantled to enable its repair, brickwork was repaired, and new lintels were made for some of the windows. A tarpaulin was secured over the mill tower to keep the weather out over winter. The floorboards on the bin floor were replaced and one of the two pairs of millstones was removed.
The work was financed by grants of £500 from the Council for the Preservation of Rural Essex,In recognition of the work carried out by the Suffolk Mills Group between 1974 and 1978 on Ramsey Windmill, Essex £250 from St Edmundsbury Borough Council, £200 from the Scarfe Trust, and £200 from the Suffolk Mills Group. Other donations and income amounted to £65, with the balance of expenditure being met jointly by the five owners.
The "work-in" was reported in both local and national media, including BBC Look East, Bury Free Press,Bury Free Press, 9 May 1980 Eastern Daily Press, East Anglian Daily Times, Daily Telegraph, and Radio Orwell.
1981
In the 1981 season two separate work-ins were held, the first from 25 July to 2 August and the second from 22 August to 30 August. A total of 37 volunteers participated over the two weeks.
The millstones were removed from the stone floor, which was then repaired. One of the main beams was found to have been attacked by Death Watch beetles, and over a third of the elm beam was replaced with oak. The six supports for the hurst frame were repaired one at a time, as they bore the whole of the weight of the machinery above. One post required replacement. It had rotted and the floor had sunk by causing the second main floor beam to fracture. When this work had been completed, the stone floor was removed, including the second main floor beam, which was removed in one piece so that the most suitable route to install its replacement could be assessed.
The new main beam for the stone floor was installed and the ground floor was concreted. The stone floor was reconstructed, reusing the old stone bearers and those joists that were fit for reuse. Other joists were made new from oak or pitch pine. New floorboards were laid in the dust floor, the thick elm boards being double-grooved with a metal tongue between them. Those on the bin floor are of a similar configuration. The top four courses of brickwork of the mill tower were removed and work began on rebuilding them, aided by a trammel attached to the upright shaft.
During the second work-in, the remainder of the stone floor was boarded, again using double-grooved boards with a metal tongue between them. The window on the dust floor was rebuilt and the reconstruction of the top four courses of brickwork continued. The top two courses were rebuilt with red engineering bricks. The dust floor window had a reinforced concrete lintel cast as the tower was weak at this point and had distorted. The windshaft, the curb segments and fantail gearing were given two coats of red lead paint. A new finial for the cap was made from a piece of oak long by diameter. A start was made on removing the old pointing on the brickwork and repointing with gauged mortar.
After the work-in had finished, the boarding of the stone floor was completed and the mill thoroughly cleaned in preparation for an open day which was held in late autumn. The work done in 1981 cost £3,250. Donations received were £2,000 from Rank Xerox, £1,704 from the Historic Buildings Council and £130 from St Edmundsbury Borough Council. Other donations and income received amounted to £70. The project received further coverage in local media, the Eastern Daily Press, and South Norfolk News.
1982
The 1982 work-ins took place from 24 July to 1 August and 21 August to 29 August. The work planned included the completion of the brickwork at the top of the tower, installation of the Elm curb, a start on the construction of the new cap, installing machinery and making and fitting various doors and windows. The cap frame was constructed, incorporating two beams from the original cap frame that were fit to be reused. The cap frame was completed in autumn 1982. It had been constructed upside down and a mobile crane was used to turn it over and place the windshaft into position.
1983
Work in the early part of 1983 was mainly confined to smaller jobs such as casting various brasses and overhaul of the various parts of the fantail drivetrain and mechanism for controlling the Patent sails. The mill was generally made as safe as possible inside in preparation for scheduled visits, including one from the Wind and Watermill Section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Other work included the overhaul of the final drive to the stones, including dismantling the stone nut and replacement of three cogs in beech.
When the weather improved, work commenced outside. The cap circle was mostly constructed before the first work-in commenced. The work-ins took place over two separate weeks in July and August, with 35 people participating. During the first work-in, the fantail posts and braces were fitted. The oak cap ribs, which had been prefabricated offsite were fitted and the finial was supported by scaffolding ready for final fitting. Intermediate noggings of oak were fitted and the finial was pulled into position using a windlass. The cap frame was completed with the fitting of intermediate ribs and noggings. The rear of the cap circle was also completed during this time.