De Bonte Hen

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction

OIL MILL "De Bonte Hen" is one of the last representatives of a historical technique, namely the pressing of vegetable oil from oil-bearing seeds. From 1891 onwards the oil mill was used as a so-called 'test mill'. On the mill, by processing samples, it was determined how much oil could be obtained from raw materials intended for the steam oil factory. The mill was a kind of operating laboratory for the steam factory. The pressing of vegetable oil from oil-bearing seeds (e.g. linseed) must have been applied in many places in the past. In our country oil extraction took place quite soon with the aid of oil mills driven by wind power or water power. In particular in the Zaanstreek this branch of industry flourished greatly after 1600. Over time certainly some 200 mills here have 'produced' oil. Now, however, with the inclusion of "De Bonte Hen" there are only four left. The particular feature of these mills is that they are specific oil mills, without other secondary functions as occurred elsewhere. They are moreover windmills, in contrast to the water-powered oil mills that formerly sometimes occurred on the higher grounds, usually as part of a double complex (corn mill plus oil mill). Furthermore these four remaining wind oil mills are typically Zaanish, which manifests itself in the main form (mill with adjoining large barn), the use of materials (entirely timber construction on bricked piers) and the colour application (typical Zaanish colours). The oil mill "De Bonte Hen" is a representative example of the development of industry in the Zaanstreek. The Zaanstreek can be considered as one of the historical industrial areas of Europe. The windmill era flourished there from circa 1600 to 1900 and laid the foundation for industries, some of which still exist today. There was a time when certainly 600 industrial mills of all sorts and types were present simultaneously in this relatively small industrial area. The core was formed by villages and linear development along the Zaan banks. Series of mills were also found there, standing by the water and sometimes with relatively short distances between them. A small series of such mills standing close to each other and outside the dike is now only to be found at the Zaanse Schans. The mill "De Bonte Hen" forms the last of this row and thus closes a historical image in an appropriate manner. That image is further strengthened on site by the open polder landscape behind it that only here still directly borders the Zaan. The superstructure dates from the 1870s. Use was made of components that came from the oil mill "De Koperslager" which burned down in 1964 and stood close to "De Bonte Hen". Among other things the sail rods, main shaft, the turning mechanism, oil presses and much other ironwork were used. The roof therefore runs on iron rollers originating from the Koperslager. The sail cross consists of two iron rods with an old Dutch sail system.

Description

Located on the eastern Zaan bank, a core seventeenth-century oil mill constructed as an upper-rotating windmill with a staddle with an original lower octagonal section within which, among other things, two original bricked oil cellars with wooden pumps. The mill is provided with also in core seventeenth-century three-aisled barn beneath with red-tiled saddle and lean-to roofs. The lower octagonal section dates from circa 1693 and is made of pine and has one collar-tie layer. In this section there are doors (upper and lower door) to outside and to the barn and sash windows. The mill "De Bonte Hen" is located on a piece of land outside the dike (in the Zaan) north of the Zaanse Schans and forms the closure of the row of mills standing there. "De Bonte Hen" is still located at the original location.

Valuation

The oil mill "De Bonte Hen" is of general importance because of its cultural and industrial historical and situational value as an example of one of the last remaining wind-driven oil mills located on the banks of the Zaan. The mill has important rarity value through the presence of original oil cellars.