De Bente, Dalen
Encyclopedia
De Bente is a smock mill
in Dalen
, in Drenthe
province of the Netherlands
. It was built in 1814. The mill has been restored to full working order. It is listed as a Rijksmonument
, number 44563
garrison in Coevorden. This mill was a post mill
. De Bente worked until 1944 when two sails were lost. The other pair of sails were lost in 1957. The mill was later demolished, leaving the base which was incorporated into a modern mill. It was restored in 1977 by millwright
J D Medendorp of Zuidlaren
. A new smock was built on the existing base. Machinery from a demolished windmill at Großheide
, Lower Saxony
, Germany
was incorporated. In 1994, miller Hans Petit rented the mill, and had it restored to working order. In 2001, a third pair of millstones was installed. The mill produces about three tonnes of flour
a week by windpower.
s which are 1.5 metre diameter. One pair are of Cullen stones, the other pair have a Cullen runner stone on a French Burr bedstone. A third pair of stones was added in 2001.
Smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind...
in Dalen
Dalen
Dalen is an old village and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Drenthe. Since 1998, Dalen has been part of the municipality of Coevorden....
, in Drenthe
Drenthe
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
province of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It was built in 1814. The mill has been restored to full working order. It is listed as a Rijksmonument
Rijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...
, number 44563
History
De Bente was built in 1814 It replaced a mill that had been burnt down on 12 December 1813, through the actions of Cossacks attacking the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
garrison in Coevorden. This mill was a post mill
Post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...
. De Bente worked until 1944 when two sails were lost. The other pair of sails were lost in 1957. The mill was later demolished, leaving the base which was incorporated into a modern mill. It was restored in 1977 by millwright
Millwright
A millwright is a craftsman or tradesman engaged with the construction and maintenance of machinery.Early millwrights were specialist carpenters who erected machines used in agriculture, food processing and processing lumber and paper...
J D Medendorp of Zuidlaren
Zuidlaren
Zuidlaren is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug....
. A new smock was built on the existing base. Machinery from a demolished windmill at Großheide
Großheide
Großheide is a village and a municipality in the district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km east of Norden, and 15 km northwest of Aurich....
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
was incorporated. In 1994, miller Hans Petit rented the mill, and had it restored to working order. In 2001, a third pair of millstones was installed. The mill produces about three tonnes of flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
a week by windpower.
Description
De Bente is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante stellingmolen", an eight sided smock mill with a stage. The stage is 4.1 metre above ground level. The mill has a three storey smock on a two storey base. The smock and cap are thatched. The Common sails have a span of 22 metre. They are carried on a cast iron windshaft dating from 1866, which originally came from a windmill at Koekange and has been shortened. Ir was cast by the millrights Enthoven of Den Haag. The wooden clasp arm Brake wheel has 60 cogs.It drives the wallower at the top of the upright shaft. The wallower has 33 cogs. At the bottom of the upright shaft, the great spur wheel with 115 cogs drives two lantern pinion stone nuts, each with 33 staves. There are two pairs of millstoneMillstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s which are 1.5 metre diameter. One pair are of Cullen stones, the other pair have a Cullen runner stone on a French Burr bedstone. A third pair of stones was added in 2001.