Hello Friends, Guides and Volunteers,
Last week we held a briefing session for guides, helpers and friends at the Pheasant. Fifteen of us gathered for coffee and croissants to get up to date with doings at the mill. We also had a meeting of trustees in June, and the notes below cover some of the decisions we made then as well as items discussed at the briefing. So here’s a brief summary of events since my last Update in April.
Mill Restoration
Earlier this year we commissioned Dave Pearce of Cambridgeshire Windmills Consultancy to provide a plan of the works needed to restore the mill to full working order. Dave’s very thorough report split the work into three phases: Phase 1 was to restore the sails and windshaft so that they would turn in the wind; Phase 2 would be to restore the internal machinery so that one pair of stones could grind grain, and Phase 3 would do the same for the second pair of millstones. We considered the time and cost implications of the whole project and decided it was realistic to make plans to achieve Phase 1, which we estimate will cost up to £180,000/ £200,000 and take five years or maybe more. Phases 2 and 3 aren’t under consideration for current action.
We’ve also placed a contract for the mill’s 5-yearly re-painting. Local contractor Bob Calladine will be starting on the job shortly. He’ll be using a cherry-picker, so no scaffolding will be required.
A team of volunteers has freed off the misaligned brake band which was preventing the sails from being pushed round. The band is secured in place by chains some of which had come adrift. Not an easy job, so congratulations to Tim Drury, Ian Sanders and John Wahlich for diagnosing and correcting the problem.
Site Expansion
We’ve agreed that to achieve our development plans, we need to have more space for visitors, and to host events. In the last Update we reported that Peter Gale, who owns the land surrounding the mill site, had generously agreed in principle to lease us a parcel of land alongside the Barley road, to be used for events and car parking. Before making a formal planning application for the development we consulted Cambridgeshire County Council’s Pre-Application Planning Advice Service, and they recently made a site visit. The comments they made at the time were not encouraging, and they suggested another position, screened by the trees behind the mill, might be better. We are still awaiting their written report, but our feeling is that their alternative would not be suitable for the mill’s needs and we intend to develop our concept into a credible and robust plan which will deal with the council’s anticipated objections.
Events
Events are a key activity for the mill – not only as fund-raisers, but also because they keep us visible within our community. Here’s what we have got planned currently:
- Great Chishill Craft Fair on 30 November in the Village Hall. We’ll have a stall there, selling mill-branded merchandise and no doubt other goodies. Offers of bottles or similar gifts will be gratefully received!
- On 22 September we’ll be hosting an event for cyclists. The mill’s already a popular stop-off for cyclists, so we are promoting the destination among local cycling clubs. We’ll have a catering wagon there, and a Portaloo, and we’re hoping for a hundred or more visitors. If the event’s a success, we’ll build on it next year with something similar but more elaborate such as a tour visiting other nearby mills.
Media and Marketing
We have been looking for a person or agency who can help us professionalise our web based and printed media presence. We found Red Graphic, based in Sawston, who have just the skills we need, and their CEO Lorraine Brown and her team will shortly begin work. The first priority will be the website.
Sponsorship
Our association with the Pheasant in Great Chishill is developing. We’ve agreed they may place a banner on the fence at the mill, and the Pheasant will be running the bar at the quiz on 13 September. They have also launched Community membership: Nutwood Club members (have you got your card?) can opt to donate the value of 25% of their Nutwood Club points to a chosen community organisation – and our windmill is one of them. We hope lots of people will choose community membership and opt to help our Windmill, a picture of which is featured on the poster advertising the card.
Financials and Fundraising
The mill is in good heart financially, treasurer Hazel Hayden explained to the briefing meeting. Our income comes from donations and sales at open days (they have already raised over £1500 this year), a grant of £2,500 from the Great and Little Chishill Parish Council, Gift Aid, and monthly standing orders from individuals which raised £2381 in the last financial year. We can add to that the funds raised by events – last year’s Quiz generated £500, our Snowdrop Day made £904, and the Christmas craft fair produced over £300.
All that activity just about covers the annual cost of running the mill. Insurance costs about £1,000, and there are various other expenses: in the last year these included grass cutting, £689, repairs and general maintenance £1253, cleaning £600, printing and web charge, and purchase of items for sale. Of course, provision has to be made for ongoing general maintenance and unexpected events. and we are establishing a sinking fund for large works such as the repainting of the mill.
We need to continue the fundraising effort, because the Phase 1 restoration programme and the site expansion will cost very substantial sums. That’s why those events listed above and others still to come are so important.
People
But the other side of the equation is people. We’re a voluntary organisation, and we are wholly dependent of the goodwill and the donated skills and time of our many supporters and friends. If you’re one of them, the Trust owes you its grateful thanks.
We have a wonderful team of guides, and this year again we’ve covered every open day with three guides for every shift. But if someone has to cancel a session because of illness or family commitments, it can be a stretch to find a replacement. Also, one or perhaps even two team members will be moving away soon. Just two or three extra guides on the strength for 2025 would ease this situation. So if you know of a friend or neighbour who might enjoy becoming a guide, please introduce them to us and we’ll take it from there.
We’d also love to find more people with specific skills. They probably live in or near the village, but we need to find them! So if you know (or are) anyone with experience in professional fundraising, project management, engineering, event management, we’d love to meet them. They don’t necessarily need join a committee or have any formal connection – but if they are able to give a little help and advice when needed, that would be a great asset.
Conclusion
Nigel ended our briefing session by thanking David McKeown, who’s moved to Devon. For many years David has been a key player in the restoration campaign, a fount of knowledge and the best possible friend to the windmill. He and Wendy will be sadly missed.
2024 had been a year of progress, thanks to the efforts of all our friends and supporters. “The windmill is on loan to pass on to the next generation”, Nigel reminded us. “Our responsibility is to pass it on in better condition, better financed and better supported.”
Neil