Friday, March 17, 2006

Belloc's Windlessmill

I am happy that Hilaire Belloc wrote his memories of a dissappearing Sussex. What would he say today about his windmill? The Poet would lament in sonnet; The Sailor would sing jest in a howling rhyme.
The largest and oldest working mill in Sussex is being prepared for a new season, and, later this year, it may not have to rely on the wind. Volunteers from the Friends of Shipley Mill are busy working to re-instate equipment in the engine shed so that they can demonstrate flour milling at every open day. "I am afraid we cannot always rely on the wind, and milling is always something that visitors like to see," explained David French, chairman of the Friends. Shipley Mill was built in 1879 and restored in 1990 as a memorial to the Sussex poet, historian and novelist Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953), who lived nearby and owned the mill for nearly 50 years.
link to the article in the West Sussex County Times (Horsham)

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