Rising to task

Danzey Green Windmill at Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, in Stoke Heath, is getting a major revamp and the flagship building now needs around £19,000 more work for the final two sails to be made.

The restoration project began in 2004 when all four sails were removed from the building because one of the stocks was cracked. The stocks were 35 years old and most last around 25 years.

Museum director, Angela Gill, said: "Having the sails off the mill did affect visitor trade.

"But now we are looking to the future for the windmill. We want to raise cash for the remaining two sails, get a miller to work the building and also to start making our own flour again."

Adam Marriott, from Cotswold Millwright Company, is helping fix the mill and salvaged two of the four sails which are now back up working to 70 per cent efficiency. He said he was the only millwright in the Midlands area who restores and repairs water and wind mills.

He said: "The museum's volunteers did a lot of the work by rubbing down and repainting, so in the end the project for the sails cost about £4,000-£5,0000.

"The next stage is to make the new sails. Some pieces of the old ones have been salvaged but about 90 per cent will be new. These will be louvre sails with shutters."

He added: "This mill was rebuilt in Danzey Green in about 1830. It was second-hand then so is doing really well for its age. In the past the miller, who worked there, would've fixed problems as and when they occurred. But this mill has been left for a while so the repair work we have to do is more costly as it is all at once.

"Although a windmill is a building, it is also a working machine that needs to be looked after."

Angela said the museum was now looking for a volunteer with milling experience.

She said: "We need someone who can work it and knows about the mechanics, as the sails do about 40mph. Ideally it would be someone with milling experience, but - if not - keen volunteers to work it would be brilliant. We could train them and then start grinding and selling our own flour."

She added: "We need money to keep doing the work and maintain the mill. Once it is up and running again there will be regular maintenance which will be better. We also need volunteers to then work the windmill."

"The windmill is weathering fantastically as it was never meant to last this long. But we want to preserve it and bring the past back to life."

Anyone who can help with volunteering should contact Nicky Cotterill on 01527 831363.

l A special fundraising concert to raise cash for the sails is taking place on July 16 at 6.30pm by Birmingham Concert Orchestra. Tickets are £6 and available from the museum.