Moses Montefiore Windmill
Encyclopedia
The Montefiore Windmill (less-commonly known as the Jaffa Gate Mill) is a landmark windmill
in Jerusalem, Israel
. Built in the Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood in 1857, which was then in Ottoman
-ruled Palestine
, it was designed as a flour mill. Today the windmill serves as a small museum dedicated to the achievements of Moses Montefiore
.
was funded by the British Jewish philanthropist
Moses Montefiore
, who devoted his life to promoting industry, education and health in the Holy Land
. Montefiore built the windmill with funding from the estate of an American Jew, Judah Touro
, who appointed Montefiore executor of his will. Montefiore mentions the windmill in his diaries (1875), noting that he had built it 18 years ago on the estate of Kerem-Moshe-ve-Yehoodit, and that it had since been joined by two other windmills nearby, owned by Greeks. The project, bearing the hallmarks of nineteenth century artisan revival, aimed to promote productive enterprise in the Yishuv
.
The mill was designed by Messrs Holman Brothers, the Canterbury
, Kent
millwright
s. The stone for the tower was quarried locally. The tower walls were 3 feet (914.4 mm) thick at the base and almost 50 feet (15.24 m) high. Parts were shipped to Jaffa
, where there were no suitable facilities for landing the heavy machinery. Transport of the machinery to Jerusalem had to be carried out by camel
. In its original form, the mill had a Kentish style cap and four Patent sails
. It was turned to face into the wind by a fantail
. The mill drove two pairs of millstone
s, flour dressers, wheat cleaners and other machinery.
The construction of the mill was part of a broader program to enable the Jews of Palestine to become self-supporting. Montefiore also built a printing press
and a textile
factory, and helped to finance several agricultural colonies. He attempted to acquire land for Jewish cultivation, but was hampered by Ottoman
restrictions on land sale to non-Muslims.
The mill was not a success due to a lack of wind. Wind conditions in Jerusalem could not guarantee its continued operation. There were probably no more than 20 days a year with strong enough breezes. Another reason for the mill's failure was technological. The machinery was designed for soft European wheat, which required less wind power than the local wheat. The first steam-powered mill was built in Jerusalem in 1878.
The Montefiore windmill was phased out by 1891.
Two anecdotes about the windmill appear in a 1933 book, which refers to it as the Jaffa Gate Mill. The first is that there was much opposition from among the local millers to the windmill, who looked upon it with the evil eye
and sent their head man to curse it. Predictions were made that the mill would be washed away during the rainy season; after it survived intact, it was declared to be the work of Satan
. The second is that the Arab
s developed a taste for the lubricating oil on the bearings and would lick them, prompting fear the mill would burn down from the resulting friction. The solution was said to be placing a leg of pork
in the oil barrel, whereafter the Arabs lost a taste for the oil.
, the founder of the Bezalel Academy of Art
, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1986.
organisation, "Christians for Israel", is behind the scheme. The plan for the restoration has been approved in principle by the local authorities in Jerusalem. A detailed plan is in preparation, with restoration planned to start during 2010. A model of Stelling Minnis windmill
, built by Tom Holman, has been temporarily taken to the Netherlands to help raise funds for the restoration. None of the original machinery survives.
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Built in the Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood in 1857, which was then in Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-ruled Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, it was designed as a flour mill. Today the windmill serves as a small museum dedicated to the achievements of Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London...
.
History
The windmillWindmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
was funded by the British Jewish philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London...
, who devoted his life to promoting industry, education and health in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. Montefiore built the windmill with funding from the estate of an American Jew, Judah Touro
Judah Touro
Judah Touro was an American businessman and philanthropist.-Early life and career:...
, who appointed Montefiore executor of his will. Montefiore mentions the windmill in his diaries (1875), noting that he had built it 18 years ago on the estate of Kerem-Moshe-ve-Yehoodit, and that it had since been joined by two other windmills nearby, owned by Greeks. The project, bearing the hallmarks of nineteenth century artisan revival, aimed to promote productive enterprise in the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
.
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
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...
s. The stone for the tower was quarried locally. The tower walls were 3 feet (914.4 mm) thick at the base and almost 50 feet (15.24 m) high. Parts were shipped to Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, where there were no suitable facilities for landing the heavy machinery. Transport of the machinery to Jerusalem had to be carried out by camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
. In its original form, the mill had a Kentish style cap and four Patent sails
Windmill sail
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.-Jib sails:...
. It was turned to face into the wind by a fantail
Windmill fantail
A Fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and perfected on mills...
. The mill drove two pairs of millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s, flour dressers, wheat cleaners and other machinery.
The construction of the mill was part of a broader program to enable the Jews of Palestine to become self-supporting. Montefiore also built a printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
and a textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
factory, and helped to finance several agricultural colonies. He attempted to acquire land for Jewish cultivation, but was hampered by Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
restrictions on land sale to non-Muslims.
The mill was not a success due to a lack of wind. Wind conditions in Jerusalem could not guarantee its continued operation. There were probably no more than 20 days a year with strong enough breezes. Another reason for the mill's failure was technological. The machinery was designed for soft European wheat, which required less wind power than the local wheat. The first steam-powered mill was built in Jerusalem in 1878.
The Montefiore windmill was phased out by 1891.
Anecdotes
Evil eye
The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
and sent their head man to curse it. Predictions were made that the mill would be washed away during the rainy season; after it survived intact, it was declared to be the work of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. The second is that the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s developed a taste for the lubricating oil on the bearings and would lick them, prompting fear the mill would burn down from the resulting friction. The solution was said to be placing a leg of pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
in the oil barrel, whereafter the Arabs lost a taste for the oil.
1948 War of Independence
During the Israeli War of Independence the windmill served an observation point for Jewish fighters. In an attempt to impede the Israeli defence, the British authorities blew up the top of the windmill in an operation dubbed "Operation Don Quixote."Montefiore carriage
In a glassed-in room at the windmill is a replica of the carriage Sir Montefiore used in his travels. The original carriage was brought to Palestine by Boris SchatzBoris Schatz
Boris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.-Biography:Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, Kaunas district, Lithuania, under the rule of the Russian Empire in 1867. His father, a teacher in a cheder , sent him to study in a yeshiva in...
, the founder of the Bezalel Academy of Art
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....
, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1986.
Future restoration plans
As part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, plans have been put forward for the restoration of the mill to full working order. A DutchNetherlands
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...
organisation, "Christians for Israel", is behind the scheme. The plan for the restoration has been approved in principle by the local authorities in Jerusalem. A detailed plan is in preparation, with restoration planned to start during 2010. A model of Stelling Minnis windmill
Davison's Mill, Stelling Minnis
Davison's mill is a Grade I listed smock mill] in Stelling Minnis, Kent, England that was built in 1866. It was the last windmill working commercially in Kent when it closed in the autumn of 1970.-History:...
, built by Tom Holman, has been temporarily taken to the Netherlands to help raise funds for the restoration. None of the original machinery survives.