BA3 - Windmill & Watermill Research

Now that I've decided what structure I want to focus on, it was time to do some research!

It turns out there are A LOT of different types of mills. I understand that a folly is merely for decorative purposes, however I wanted to incoporate some elements which would appear in an actual wind/watermill. This also gave me an opportunity to find out more about them.

So what do watermills actually do? They use moving water which acts as a source of power to drive a mechanical process, commonly using a water wheel or turbine. These processes including rolling, hammering and milling (grinding), to create materials such as "flour, lumber, paper, textiles, and... metal products".

The many types of Mills! ( Sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermill)

• Bark mills These ground bark, from oak or chestnut trees to produce a coarse powder for use in tanneries.

• Blade mills Used for sharpening newly made blades.

• Bobbin mills These made wooden bobbins for the cotton and other textile industries.

• Carpet mills For making carpets and rugs, that were sometimes water-powered.

• Cotton mills Driven by water. The power was used to card the raw cotton, and then to drive the spinning mules andring frames. Steam engines were initially used to increase the water flow to the wheel, then as the industrial revolution progressed, to directly drive the shafts.

• Fulling or Walk mills Used for a finishing process on woollen cloth.

• Gristmills, or Corn mills Grind grains into flour. These were undoubtedly the most common kind of mill.

• Needle mills Used for scouring needles during manufacture and were mostly water-powered .

• Oil mills Used for crushing oil seeds, which were either wind or water-powered.

• Paper mills Used water not for motive power.

• Powder mills Used for making gunpowder - black powder or smokeless powder were usually water-powered.

• Rolling mills Shaped metal by passing it between rollers.

• Sawmills Cut timber into lumber.

• Slitting mills Used for slitting bars of iron into rods, which were then made into nails.

• Spoke mills Turned lumber into spokes for carriage wheels.

• Stamp mills For crushing ore, usually from non-ferrous mines

• Textile mills For spinning yarn or weaving cloth were sometimes water-powered.

#ba3