May2007

Friends of Windmill http://www.upminsterwindmill.co.uk Registered Charity Number 1097976

Friends of Upminster Windmill Chairman Roger Fuller, 66 Highview Gardens Upminster RM14 2YZ 01708 222579 [email protected] Secretary John Winn, 58 St Mary’s Lane, Upminster RM14 2QP 01708 509973 [email protected]

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/May2007News.html[07/01/2017 13:24:02] May2007

Treasurer Jean Webb, 2 Fairkytes Avenue, . RM11 1XS Vice-Chairman Martin Withers, 40 Chelmer Road, Upminster. RM14 1QT 01708 229564 Membership Secretary Neil Morley, 121 Lane, Upminster RM14 2NL 01708 505865 [email protected] Editor John Winn, 58 St Mary’s Lane, Upminster RM14 2QP 01708 509973 [email protected] Upminster Windmill Preservation Trust Chairman Bob Sharp MBE, 4 Plough Rise, Upminster. RM14 1XS 01708 224060 [email protected] Vice Chairman Richard Moorey, 10 River Drive, Upminster. RM14 1AS 01708 225845 [email protected] Secretary Frank Morley, 42 Gaynes Park Road, Upminster. RM14 2HP 01708 703740 [email protected]

Chairman’s Letter As this is my first letter for the Mill Newsletter I would like to take this opportunity to thank our retiring Chairman Bob Sharp and his wife Sheila, for all their very hard work over many years in keeping the Mill open and in the public eye. I know you all would like me to wish them on your behalf a very happy retirement and hope they will both visit us at Upminster Windmill from time to time. We are now well into the season of open weekends and Trevor is hard at work ensuring that there are enough bodies to effectively run the Mill on these days. If there are any members feel that they could spare a few hours during the open season to keep the Mill open perhaps they could contact either John Winn, Secretary, or myself for more information. I would like to thank all members who were able to attend the AGM and I feel sure you all found the talk given by Luke Bonwick very enlightening as it certainly explained the work which has to be done before restoration work really can get underway. Lastly I would like to give my thanks to all those who helped with the teas and clearing of the file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/May2007News.html[07/01/2017 13:24:02] May2007

hall and look forward to a very successful time ahead. Roger Fuller Chairman

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file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/May2007News.html[07/01/2017 13:24:02] The Mill’s Sails The previous Newsletter was published following the storm damage when the stock of the forward pair of sails was broken by the exceptionally high wind on January 18th. At that time we did not know the extent of the damage. The break occurred near the canister or poll end through which the stock is fitted. The sail fell behind one of the rear pair and became jammed between this sail and the body of the mill. The lightning conductor fitted to the sail also helped prevent it falling. During that day a three second gust of 81 mph and a ten minute average of 61 mph were recorded at a wind measuring station in Lincolnshire, the latter being potentially far more serious from the point of structural damage. Nigel arranged for a Council contractor to come to the mill on the Friday, with a ‘cherry-picker’ to decide on emergency repair action and also requested the Council’s security team to place barriers near the mill in order to dissuade members of the public getting near the mill. The photo that John Winn had taken of the damage I later emailed with a report to Simon Hudson, secretary of the SPAB Mills Section. Members of the Preservation Trust were also advised. On Friday morning the contractor arrived and millwright Vincent Pargeter, who had been informed of the damage, also came to advise. The ‘cherry-picker’ was not tall or strong enough for the job and it was arranged that a crane would be brought on the following Tuesday.

Photo: Frank Morley

The contractors and Vincent duly arrived and the damaged sail was lowered. Some of the boarding of the cap roof was unavoidably damaged in the process. As arranged, Richard had brought his chain saw and this was used to cut through the stock and allow removal of

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page2.html[07/01/2017 13:25:26] the undamaged sail. Nigel and I later fitted temporary boards to the cap roof, Nigel working from inside the cap while I worked from a cradle suspended from the crane. Richard had earlier been taken up in the cradle to take pictures of the damage.

Photo: Richard Moorey

Many Friends turned up to help and we thank them for their support. The ‘good’ sail was dismantled and a section of this will be used to demonstrate to visitors how the shutters are controlled. As Nigel was concerned that there could be a danger of children hurting themselves by climbing onto them, the ‘whips’ of the two sails and the two halves of the stock have now been cut into approx 4’ 6” lengths as baulks of this size may well be useful to millwrights when the cap is removed for repair. As the mill is a listed building, English Heritage wish the sails to be replaced as soon as possible, as does the Council. We hope Vincent will be given the contract as he knows the mill well. In 1971/2 he and Phillip Leonard fitted the present sails to the mill and also repaired the roof of the cap. It will, however, be a while before repairs are carried out as timber will have to be procured and Vincent will have to work it in with all his projects at other mills (e.g. Willsborough in Kent). The damage has raised people’s awareness of the mill and many individuals and groups have phoned, written supportive letters and made donations, totaling approximately £700, specifically towards the repair of the sails. Many of these have been from school children dismayed to see ‘their’ mill damaged. The social section of the Upminster and Cranham Residents’ Association have given £500, and the Lions Club of contributed £100. We are very grateful for these donations which show how fond people are of the mill. The Trust has recently been told that the Council’s buildings insurance will cover the cost of the repair and any incidental costs. When the Trust has the lease of the mill the buildings insurance cover will continue to be provided as part of the support package to which the Council is committed throughout the term of the lease. - Bob Sharp

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page2.html[07/01/2017 13:25:26] Photo: Roger Fuller

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file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page2.html[07/01/2017 13:25:26] Chairman's report AGM April 2007 We have had a successful year and I thank all members of the Friends who have supported our efforts at mill openings and work days. Thanks also to those who have helped with parties of visitors to the mill and have represented us at Planet Havering and the Havering Show. These two events are occasions when we have the opportunity to tell the public what we are trying to achieve. On the Friday of Planet Havering, which is for school parties to attend, many of the children were obviously becoming aware of ‘green’ issues, which is the purpose of the event. Often children who have attended on Friday with their schools come back on the Saturday bringing their parents. Special thanks are due to Jane and Richard Moorey for organising the Craft Fair last June. This took a lot of time and effort and we cannot expect them to run an event of that magnitude every year. Richard’s success in obtaining the £5000 grant from ‘Awards for All’ has provided us with plenty of tables and easily erected tents. Thanks also to the members who helped with setting up the tents and operating side-shows. Perhaps some-one could organize a different type of event for this summer – perhaps a kite festival? Unfortunately the Ford minibus was not available on a convenient date last summer and we were not able to run the usual outing. We shall run this again late in September. Trevor is thinking possibly of going to the Buckinghamshire area. Brill and Pitstone windmills, two of the oldest post mills in the country, are possibilities. Our Christmas Sale was the usual successful occasion even though one or two visitors managed to get their cars stuck. First suggested (and continued) by Jo, this is now a regular event. Another highlight was the Quiz Night run by Gill and Stephen Roome in February . This is a firm favourite and is one of our major fund- raising (and brain-torturing) events. My table failed (only just) to be the lowest scoring table this year - perhaps we shall do better next time! Another of their quiz nights produced a £100 donation towards the repair of the sails from the Lions Club of Romford. We did not seem to suffer from the activity of vandals quite so much last summer, so maybe the previous summer was exceptional. The security lighting promised by the Council has not yet materialized but will be provided when the necessary funding is available. I must also thank a lady who lives in Highview Gardens near the mill and keeps a look-out for untoward incidents. She describes herself as not wanting to be a busybody but to me she is the best busybody I know! As you are probably all aware, one of the stocks supporting the sails was broken in the exceptionally high wind on January 18th. I was advised of the damage shortly after it happened by a gentleman who

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page3.html[07/01/2017 13:25:46] was visiting his mother in Highview Gardens. I immediately went to the mill and was joined by Nigel Oxley who I had informed. Nigel arranged for Council’s contractor to come to the mill on the Friday to decide on emergency repair action. The millwright Vincent Pargeter had heard of the damage and also came to advise. On the following Tuesday the contractors arrived with a crane and under Vincent’s supervision the damaged sail was lowered. Good use was then made of Richard’s chain saw to cut through the stock and remove the undamaged sail. The cost of replacing the damaged sails will be borne by the Council. The mill is covered by their buildings insurance and this cover will continue when the Trust has the lease as part of the support package to which the Council is committed. The damage has raised people’s awareness of the mill and many individuals and groups phoned, wrote supportive letters and made donations towards the repairs. These ranged from small amounts raised by children to the donation from the Lions Club of Romford and £500 from the Residents’ Association social group. The year ahead The Havering Amateur Radio Club will again run a ‘ham’ station at the mill on the second week-end of May which is National Mills Week- end, using call-sign GB2UW. This is now a big event in the world of ‘ham’ radio and started at Upminster when a then colleague of mine at GEC-Marconi first obtained the call-sign and ran the station. We shall also have a visit by the Romford Tractor Group on Sunday 13th. They have also been supporters of the mill for many years and we have seen many of their superbly restored tractors and stationary engines. In June we shall again be at Planet Havering which is an important event and we shall also be at the Havering Show on the August Bank Holiday week-end. The other major event will be Open House London weekend on the 16th/17th September. This is always a very busy weekend and we shall certainly need a number of roving stewards on this occasion. The Tractor Group will probably be with us on the Sunday of that week-end As I have said before, we need a larger reserve of people to help with open days so that we are covered during holiday periods. We were short-staffed on a number of occasions last summer and extra helpers would be most welcome for the future. Expert knowledge of the working of the mill is not required - there are other jobs such as sales which are equally important. After this meeting I shall no longer be Chairman of the Friends. Roger Fuller has been proposed as my successor and I am confident he will receive the same level of support which I have experienced. For some time Sheila and I had been thinking of moving from Upminster towards the end of this year or early in 2008. Sheila’s accident has changed our thoughts and our family also feel we should bring our plans forward. Accordingly we shall be moving to file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page3.html[07/01/2017 13:25:46] Lymington in the near future. We shall, of course, remain members of the Friends and shall probably come up for some open week-ends, particularly Open House London week-end. I shall also maintain my interest in mills in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, although friends in the SPAB Mills Section and the Hampshire Mills Group are aware of our move and I shall probably find something to do in that area as well. I have been involved with the mill for just on forty years and I thank all who have supported me over this time. I am grateful to those who, as well as becoming Friends, helped form the Trust. There were many meetings with the Council before the Friends and Trust were formed and I particularly thank those who helped in those formative stages. I have every confidence that we shall see the mill restored and the visitor centre created in the near future. The latter will, of course, require a great deal of support from Friends and there will be many different jobs to be carried out in order to ensure its continuing success. - Bob Sharp.

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file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page3.html[07/01/2017 13:25:46] Secretary’s Report AGM April 2007 There were three notable events during the past year. The first was Sunday 18th June when we had the marvellous Country Crafts Fair. What a wonderful day it was but what hard work. Our thanks must go to Jane Moorey who masterminded the whole event, with the assistance of her head of staff Richard! Our grateful thanks to you both. Our biggest problem was lack of help, not so much in putting the equipment out, though a few more then would have helped, but getting it back to the container at about 7 o’clock when almost all the folk left had been on the field since about 7.30 in the morning. The second notable event was also on Sunday 18th June. I first noticed it when people started coming up to Bob and congratulating him. One or two even gave him cards. It turned out that during the morning service at St Laurence it had been announced that he had been granted the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. The third notable event started for me when I was sitting at home in January on a very windy day and the phone rang. It was from a member of the Friends who lived near the Mill. The storm had done something to the sails, she said. I opened the door and it was blowing a good `un. I put on my thick coat and hat, grabbed my camera, crossed the road and walked the short distance to the field. Something indeed had happened to one of the sails. What I would describe as the top left hand sail had broken off and was caught between the petticoat of the cap and the remaining sail assembly. Of course our phone lines were all busy with people calling in saying what had happened and us trying to get in touch with each other. I finally managed to reach Bob on my mobile and he had been in contact with Nigel Oxley of the Council, and I then called Roger. When they had arrived we walked about half way up the chase, and decided that was near enough as the wind was very strong and we didn’t know what might happen, and I took the picture that was on the front of the Newsletter. Perhaps I should add, going for the sympathy vote, that when I got home I saw there was a hole in my roof where 6 tiles had blown out, which was an interesting job for my son and myself that evening. After that melodrama our work in publicising the Windmill goes on. We had 30 Open Days during last year, and had 1,977 visitors. Our total sales came to £2172.60 and we received £1604.84 in donations. I must at this point thank Brian Hayden for his organisation of our sales and record of visitor numbers. On top of that there were a number of visits from schools and other organisations, as well as talks. We have a working party at the Mill on most Tuesday mornings and we are keeping out most of the rain, though with the help of a strong wind there always seems to be some that finds its way in. The walls of the

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page4.html[07/01/2017 13:26:11] Ground floor have been lime washed which has made it a lot brighter. Over the past few weeks we have altered the layout of the ground floor (yet again) and tried to make more space for our sales team, visitors and a display area of some of our pictures. Health and safety is always in our minds. Of course the requirements are different in a historic building to a more modern one, and we have to make sure that we do not detract too much from how the Mill was when it was working, and at the same time keeping both our visitors and ourselves safe. ‘Public Realm’ which is the new name for Culture and Leisure, now have their own Health and Safety advisor Suzanne Riches, and are not covered by Corporate Health and Safety. As discussed with her we are producing a check list for each floor that will be gone through and signed before every public opening. During the year we even had a fire drill. That is not quite the right term as it wasn’t planned, but it happened when a number of London Mayors were being shown over the Windmill and an over enthusiastically boiling tea urn managed to set off the fire alarm. Our honoured guests vacated the Mill within the required time, and seemed to be amused by the occasion. The fire engine, having been automatically called, turned up and we then found out that the appliance couldn’t get onto the field. It turned out that as it now has to do more things than its predecessors it is about 5 inches wider. The future life of the telephone pole near the gate was in doubt for a time, but after some work by the Council cutting back the bushes etc at the right hand side of the gateway and lowering the ground the engine can now get in and out without difficulty. So although it was embarrassing at the time in many ways it did us a favour. In 2007 we have 30 Open Days planned. One thing we need urgently is some new blood, or more accurately knees and hips as at least a couple of our Guides are finding the stairs very painful if not impossible to climb. A few more people on the rota to act as Stewards or Guides will mean that there are fewer occasions when folk have to turn up. Please if you could possibly help on the first or third weekend in the month let Trevor or me know. During the year Frank Morley, the former Secretary, resigned from the Committee to give more time to the Preservation Trust, and Richard Moorey has also not put himself up for re-election for the same reason. Bob Sharp has decided to resign as Chairman, and I have since heard that he and Sheila are planning to move nearer their daughter in Lymington in the near future. I personally would like to thank them all for their efforts to get the Friends up and running. I think I have to give a special mention for Bob who has been “Mr Windmill” for so many years, ably supported by Sheila. I will give notice now that under “Any Other Business” I will propose that Bob and Sheila are made our first Honorary Vice-Presidents. I must finish by thanking the other committee members and officers, the Tuesday working party, our Guides and Stewards, Martin Perrett file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page4.html[07/01/2017 13:26:11] our Webmaster, the Friends who give us support, and the many members of the local community who have an interest in the Mill and make our efforts seem worth while. Our thanks to you all. - John Winn. More

file:///H|/Items%20to%20add%20to%20archive/Old%20Newsletters/May07_news/page4.html[07/01/2017 13:26:11] Treasurer's Report AGM April 2007. The current account balance at the bank is £1,949.86 and the deposit account balance is £1,167.97, making a total of £3,117.83 in the two accounts which is a little up on last year even though we were able to transfer £2500 to The Preservation Trust. Income had increased on the subscriptions, donations and the fund raising events. The shop sales were much as last year and bank: interest down because over the past two years the Friends have managed to transfer in excess of £9000.00 to the Preservation Trust. The expenditure for this year compares favourably with last year and is in fact slightly less. The biggest event of the year was the Craft Fair. This was prompted by the grant from Awards For All of £5000.00. However in order to stage such an event it was necessary to buy Gazebos and tables which are shown in the accounts as Equipment for Functions amounting to £5397.38. In the accounts the only figure which is wholly attributed to the craft fair is £237.42. This, however, is not the true picture. On the day of the fair both donations and shop sales were up. Also I understand that the Preservation Trust received donations as a result of the event. The accounts have not been audited because the AGM date was so close to the year end, but I am confident that the figures contained in the accounts are a true picture of the year's financial activity. [Editor’s note. The accounts have since been approved by the auditor.] Jean Webb.

The next Newsletter will be published in July. Any Mill related items are very welcome for inclusion. Please can you send then to the Editor by 5th July please.

Produced and Printed by John Winn, 58 St Mary’s Lane, Upminster RM14 2QP

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