De Phenix The Phoenix

Phoenix (mythology)

The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....

 is a smock mill in Marrum

Marrum

Marrum is a small village in Ferwerderadiel in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and has around 1250 citizens as of 2004.-Windmills:There are two windmills in Marrum, De Grote Molen and De Phenix. A third mill, De Kleilânsmole was dismantled in 2010 for restoration and rebuilding at...

, Friesland

Friesland

Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 which was built in 1917. The mill has been restored to working order and is used to train millers. It is listed as a Rijksmonument

Rijksmonument

A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...

, number 15602.

History

The first mill on this site was built by millwright

Millwright

A millwright is a craftsman or tradesman engaged with the construction and maintenance of machinery.Early millwrights were specialist carpenters who erected machines used in agriculture, food processing and processing lumber and paper...

 J T Kingma of Ternaard

Ternaard

Ternaard is a village in the municipality Dongeradeel located in the northeast of the province of Friesland between Dokkum and the Wadden Sea.| - History :...

 in 1845. It drained the Ferwerd polder

Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

. In August 1916, it was struck by lightning

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

 and burnt down. To replace it, the sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 De Phenix was moved from Leeuwarden. At one time, the mill was fitted with Patent sails. Auxiliary power was originally by a portable engine

Portable engine

A portable engine is a small steam engine, mounted on wheels or skids, which is used for driving machinery using a belt from its flywheel. It is not self-propelled and is towed to the work site by horses or bullocks, or even a traction engine. Portable engines were used mainly for driving...

, later replaced by a Petter Mc Larren

Petters Limited

Petters Limited , were a maker of stationary petrol and diesel engines from 1896 onwards.In 1915 Petter founded Westland Aircraft Works ....

 diesel engine. On 4 May 1976, the mill was sold to Stichting De Fryske Mole (Frisian Mills Society). New sails were fitted in 1977 and a new Archimedes screw was fitted in 1983. Since 1977, the mill has been used as a training mill where millers can learn their craft. Further restoration work was carried out in 1997.

Description

De Phenix is what the Dutch describe as a Grondzeiler. It is a two storey smock mill on a single storey base. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost to ground level. The mill is winded by tailpole and winch. The smock and cap are thatched. The sails are Common sails. They have a span of 21.5 metre. The sails are carried on a cast iron windshaft. which was cast by Prins van Oranje, 's Gravenhage, Zuid Holland in 1888. The windshaft also carries the brake wheel which has 60 cogs. This drives the wallower (33 cogs) at the top of the upright shaft. At the bottom of the upright shaft the crown wheel, which has 39 cogs drives a gearwheel with 32 cogs on the axle of the Archimedes screw. The axle of the Archimedes screw is 480 millimetre diameter. The screw is 1.6 metre diameter and 5.3 metre long. It is inclined at 17°. Each revolution of the screw lifts 1272 litres (279.8 imp gal) of water.