Moulin à vent de Bel-Air

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Originally, this mill would have been built on the slope of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. Dismantled around 1860, it was transported to its current location. The form of the aisselier as well as the presence of moulding on the corner post make it possible to date the construction of the mill to the end of the first half of the 17th century. It was provided with wooden sails in the 19th century. The mill presumably ceased operating in 1914, the date on which a law obliged millers to dismantle the bolter by prohibiting them from making bread flour. The mill belongs to the type of mills on wooden pivot, or chandeliers, the oldest model of windmills and the most widespread in Beauce. The cage of the mill, partially collapsed, rests on a sole itself placed on stone blocks. It comprises two levels. One storey served by an external staircase, occupied by the pivot and by the bolter. The second storey, served by an internal staircase which presents two mechanisms: a pair of millstones 210cm in diameter, a truncated conical lantern with 12 spindles, a large iron, a cogwheel with 60 cogs; a pair of millstones 150cm in diameter, a large iron, a lantern with 9 spindles, a cogwheel with 50 cogs. The driving shaft cut with 16 facets, equipped with the Berton system, carries two cogwheels. The control arms are mounted on two crowns to open or close the sails even during rotation of the shaft. A remnant of a poplar wood brake blade and the brake lever are still in place.