Exhibition appeal as much-loved windmill marks 200th anniversary
AN APPEAL has gone out for photographs, documents and stories ahead of an exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of a much-loved East Yorkshire landmark, Skidby Mill.
The earliest record of a mill at Skidby manor dates back to the 14th century, and there was a wooden post mill on the site of the current windmill in 1764.
However it was not until 1821 that a brick tower mill was built.
Three decades later it was taken over by the Thompson family, who owned the mill for over a century, before they handed it to the predecessor of the current council for a nominal £1 so it could be preserved for the public.
Since the last miller left some three years ago it hasn’t milled flour – and currently it is without its sails and fantail, which were sent away last year for restoration.
Their return has been delayed because the original millwright is no longer in business, because of the pandemic. East Riding Council has sourced another millwright in East Anglia, who has taken delivery of two sails, which have been repaired, and will be manufacturing the other two sails, which need rebuilding from scratch. It is hoped they will be back on the mill later in the year.
Meanwhile museums registrar
Dr David Marchant said the main focus of the display – which they hope to open to the public in May – was to look at events in the mill’s history over the past 200 years and tell the stories of some of the people who worked there.
He said the attraction for visitors was in a “vanished technology” in an era when people are increasingly reliant on computer technology and “don’t actually know how stuff works”.
There’s also play equipment for children, a cafe and in the summer, a meadow of wildflowers next door.
The attraction for visitors was in a ‘vanished technology’. Dr David Marchant, museums registrar.