Crux Easton wind engine
Encyclopedia
Crux Easton wind engine is a Grade II listed Titt
wind engine
at Crux Easton
, Hampshire
, England
which has been restored to working order.
in 1891. The wind engine pumped water from a well 410 feet (125 m) deep. It was last used in the 1920s. The sails were removed in the 1960s and placed in storage. Restoration of the wind engine was undertaken by Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society and Hampshire Mills Group with assistance from the British Engineerium
, Hove
for the Crux Easton Wind Engine Restoration Trust. The restoration was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
, which was asked to contribute £149,750 of the estimated £226,180 cost. Other grants were received from Basingstoke & Deane District Council
, Hampshire County Council
. and the Vodafone
Charitable Trust. Restoration of the wind engine was delayed due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The restored wind engine was officially opened on 25 September 2002 by Sir George Young
.
mounted on a 35 feet (10.67 m) hexagonal steel
tower. The annular sail has 48 blades, each one 5 feet (1.52 m) long. It is winded by a six blade fantail. The wind engine was primarily used for pumping water, but also drove a circular saw and a pair of millstone
s. The mill is recorded as being capable of producing eight to ten sacks of flour per day.
John Wallis Titt
John Wallis Titt was a late nineteenth-century mechanical engineer and builder of a particular design of large wind engine.-Early life:...
wind engine
Windpump
A windpump is a windmill used for pumping water, either as a source of fresh water from wells, or for draining low-lying areas of land. Once a common fixture on farms in semi-arid areas, windpumps are still used today where electric power is not available or too expensive.-History:Windmills were...
at Crux Easton
Crux Easton
Crux Easton is a hamlet in the English county of Hampshire located 6½ miles south of Newbury. It falls within the civil parish of Ashmansworth...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which has been restored to working order.
History
Erected for the Earl of CarnarvonGeorge Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon
George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.-Biography:...
in 1891. The wind engine pumped water from a well 410 feet (125 m) deep. It was last used in the 1920s. The sails were removed in the 1960s and placed in storage. Restoration of the wind engine was undertaken by Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society and Hampshire Mills Group with assistance from the British Engineerium
British Engineerium
The British Engineerium is an engineering and steam power museum in the West Blatchington area of Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove, located just north of the Brighton & Hove Greyhound Stadium...
, Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
for the Crux Easton Wind Engine Restoration Trust. The restoration was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, which was asked to contribute £149,750 of the estimated £226,180 cost. Other grants were received from Basingstoke & Deane District Council
Basingstoke and Deane
Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....
, Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...
. and the Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
Charitable Trust. Restoration of the wind engine was delayed due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease. The restored wind engine was officially opened on 25 September 2002 by Sir George Young
Sir George Young, 6th Baronet
Sir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...
.
Description
Crux Easton wind engine is a Titt Simplex geared wind engine. It has a 20 feet (6.1 m) diameter sailWindmill sail
Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different designs, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails.-Jib sails:...
mounted on a 35 feet (10.67 m) hexagonal steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
tower. The annular sail has 48 blades, each one 5 feet (1.52 m) long. It is winded by a six blade fantail. The wind engine was primarily used for pumping water, but also drove a circular saw and a pair 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. The mill is recorded as being capable of producing eight to ten sacks of flour per day.