Welcome at Korenmolen Windlust Nootdorp

The flour mill Windlust is situated on the outskirts of Nootdorp on the road to Pijnacker, the Oudeweg. It overlooks the Dobbeplas recreation area. The owner of the windmill is the foundation ‘Vrienden van de Windlust te Nootdorp’. The Windlust functions as a grain mill, producing meal or flour for bread.

History of the windmill

The windmill was built in Delft in 1781 on the Hopsteegse tower, between the Oostpoort and the Koepoort. There it was used as a tanning mill (for grinding oak bark) and the owners were tanners. Due to the transition to steam power, the windmill became superfluous and in 1885 it was dismantled and sold to the miller in Nootdorp, Huibert Blonk. The octagonal timber framed body of windmill Windlust was moved from Delft to Nootdorp in 1885.

The first stone was laid on 17 August 1885 by the miller’s 5½ year-old son Leendert. Mr Blonk did not live long to enjoy his acquisition. He died in the beginning of 1886 at the age of 61. He left behind a wife and ten children. The widow Blonk-Verhoeff sold the mill to Arend Blonk (born in 1853), the second son out of Huibert’s first marriage.

After this the windmill changed hands a few times. In 1922 mr. Hendrik Jongste from Kethel came to work for the farmers co-operative as the miller, but it took until 1955 before he became the owner of the windmill. During WWII mr. Jongste was always prepared to mill grain for those who had little or no money. In 1947 he was one of the first people to install ‘fore-sails’ with automatic brakes. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to earn a living from a wind-powered mill. In 1951 the windmill ceased to work commercially.

In the following years the windmill’s condition deteriorated. In 1974 better times began for the windmill. Mr J L de Wolf, watch and clock seller and repairer from Delft, bought the windmill. With an enormous amount of determination and patience Mr De Wolf initiated the restoration of the windmill. Despite the slow machinations of various organisations such as Monumentenzorg (Care of Listed Buildings), the county and the council, Mr De Wolf stuck to his guns. When the restoration plans became more concrete sponsors were found from the banking and business world. Finally, after almost 40 years of idleness, the windmill proudly turned again on 29 May 1989. The restoration had cost Fl 480,000 (€ 220.000).

Type of windmill

The windmill Windlust is a smock mill on a stone base: the windmill has a reefing stage that lies at the height of the first floor (approx. 3 m). Smock is said to have been used because of a fancied resemblance to a countryman’s smock. The sails turn just over the reefing stage. The windmill is therefore not one where the sails turn just above the ground – with those you can climb the sails from the ground. The main body of the windmill is octagonal and covered with thatch. The top portion of the mill, the cap, can turn, enabling the miller to turn the windmill and sails into the wind.

Ground floor

The octagonal base of the windmill is of stone and approx 6 m high. At ground level there are two doors opposite each other. Horses and carts could drive through the windmill to unload grain or to load flour. On the ground floor old stocks can be seen as supporting-beams. They are being used as loft flooring. There is a good chance that these stocks come from the hollow post corn windmill which from circa 1622 originally stood on this site.

The first floor: the meal floor

On the meal floor, sacks hang to collect the meal discharged through chutes from the stones above. If grain is being milled, the miller always stands here to feel the quality of the flour – not too coarse and not too fine. If the wind strength varies the miller can adjust the space between the milling stones to maintain this quality.
In the meal floor there are always at least two doors which give access to the platform. The one closest to the turning sails is always locked. To be hit by a turning sail could be fatal. Therefore, on the platform, there are always safety barriers which it is forbidden to cross.

The reefing stage

The meal floor is almost always on the same height as the reefing stage. The miller must be able to quickly stop the windmill should anything unexpected happen or should the wind suddenly increase. It is very important that the miller is aware of the weather conditions.
The miller mans the brake from the platform. This is not only so that the sails can be stopped at the end of the working day, but also stopped should the wind strength change, and the clothes need to be reefed or spread. From the cap a large heavy beam (the tail pole) runs down to the reefing stage. The cap can then be turned by pulling the tail pole to the left or right by means of winding the anchor chain on the capstan. This anchor chain is fastened to the reefing stage via the capstan. When the sails have been adjusted to face the wind, the tail pole is secured so that the cap cannot move.
If the wind blows really hard (but not if there is a storm!) the windmill can turn without sail-clothes on the sails. Mostly a sail-cloth must be on the sails to ensure a constant sail speed. The miller must estimate how much sail-cloth he should put on the sails. If there is little wind then it may be necessary to completely unroll the sail-cloths on all four sails. The sail-cloth can be gradually rolled in – it can be done in 5 steps to bring it from full sail to completely empty. If a windmill turns without any sail-cloth then it is called ‘with bare legs’.
If there is no wind whatsoever, then the windmill cannot turn. There is no electric motor in the windmill to enable the sails to turn. It can also happen that if there is too much wind then it is too dangerous to let the windmill turn. It could turn so fast that it would be impossible to safely brake it. This could be very dangerous!

The second floor: the stone floor

The second floor – also known as the stone floor – is so called because of the mill stones. The ‘Windlust’ has two pairs of stones. The milling stones are approx 1½ m in diameter and 25 cm thick. They lie in a big round wooden cradle. The lower stone is called the bed stone and this is static. The top stone is the runner stone and this is turned by the quant. On the quant sits a wooden pinion which meshes with the great spur wheel on the upright shaft. When that happens, grain can be poured through a hole in the runner stone. The grain then comes between the two stones and is ground. The meal then falls through a wooden pipe down to the meal bags on the meal floor. If you look upwards from the stone floor you can see the big wooden great spur wheel that brings the quant into motion. The great spur wheel itself is mounted on the upright shaft, a heavy timber, square in cross section. On the stone floor it can be clearly seen that the wooden octagonal top structure is built on a stone foundation.

The third floor: the bin floor

The third floor – also known as the bin floor – is so called because the miller has to hoist the sacks of grain up to this loft. The sack hoist is an interesting invention. On the upright shaft a round hoist table has been made. With the aid of a rope the miller is able to let the hoist wheel descend on to the hoist table. The turning hoist table ensures that the hoist wheel turns too. As the hoist wheel turns, the hoist rope entwines round the spindle causing the sack of grain (which is attached to the other end of the rope at ground floor level) to rise.

The fourth floor: the top floor

The top floor is the most interesting, but also the most dangerous floor in the windmill. Under no circumstances are you allowed here unless you have permission from the miller.
The most striking thing here is the brake wheel, an enormous wooden gear wheel mounted on an inclined iron axle, the windshaft. The windshaft passes through the front of the cap and carries the sails at its’ outer end. The cogs of the brake wheel mesh with the wallower, a lantern pinion mounted near the top of the upright shaft, and this transmits power down into the body of the mill. Around the brake wheel is a band of curved wooden blocks, held clear of the rim when the mill is at work. A heavy brake lever, operated by a rope from the reefing stage below, allows the miller to clamp them firmly around the brake wheel, so that the friction brings the mill to a stop. If the miller keeps trying to slow the windmill then, due to the friction, the blocks can become too hot and fire could break out. If that should happen this windmill would be destroyed in a very short space of time.
On the top floor it can also be seen that the cap itself rests on iron rollers, which allow it to be turned to suit the direction of the wind. Everything that is above floor level here turns with the cap. Often you will see blocks of lard hung up to dry on a beam over the wind shaft. Lard has been used for centuries in windmills as a lubricant. The iron wind shaft rotates in a neck bearing at the front of the cap, where the sails are situated, and in a hollowed stone tail bearing at the inner end. Where the axle rotates in the stone it is lubricated.

Millers

The windmill is regularly operated by qualified voluntary millers:

• C. (Cock) Weerheim, Pijnacker, 015-3696433, chief miller,
• D. (Dirk) Pereboom, Pijnacker, 06-111 86 039
• D.J.N. Steeneveld (Dick), Nootdorp, 015-3108461
• F.A.P. (Fred) Heidt, Nootdorp, 015-3107799
• A. (Albert) van der Steen, Nootdorp, 06-22692203

Foundation Vrienden van de Windlust te Nootdorp

On 28 April 1998 the Foundation ‘Vrienden van de Windlust te Nootdorp‘ was founded. The aims of the foundation are:

• to maintain the integrity of the windmill;
• to stimulate awareness of the technical cultural value of the Windlust;
• to maintain the milling capabilities of the windmill;
• to keep the windmill active and open to the public.

The Foundation is the owner of the windmill since 2 september 2008.
You can become a ‘Friend of the Windlust’ with a minimum donation of € 12 per year,
IBAN NL34 RABO 0137 3360 20, of Stichting Vrienden Windlust Nootdorp.
The secretary of the Foundation is B.G.M. (Ben) van Hagen, Ribeslaan 3, 2631 HV Nootdorp

Wedding location

The windmill has been designated as a wedding location by the municipality of Pijnacker-Nootdorp, and wedding ceremonies may be conducted here. The wedding ceremony takes place on the meal floor where around 30 people may be present. A video link can be provided to the ground-floor, where a further 40 to 50 people are able to follow the ceremony.

Contact

E-mail: windlust@windlustnootdorp.nl