Geograph - photograph every grid square

Haddenham Great Mill is a preserved tower mill in the Cambridgeshire village of Haddenham. Built in 1803 south of the village it was one of two in the area. Sadly out of action by the mid 20th century. Restoration took place in 1996. Its large circumference resulted in a nice amount of room for the machinery to be fitted. On the stone floor are three sets of stones although one pair has been out of action for over 100 years. Currently the owners are restoring the mill, with the help of local craftsmen. Tasks include lifting the cap and replacing the iron circumference ring. The sails require 80 new shutters, new windows are being made and the outside is to be repointed. See Link Link

In a mill context, tentering is changing the distance (gap) between the runner stone and the bed stone. Decreasing the distance results in a finer grain. As the stones go faster there is a natural tendency for the runner to rise and the tentering mechanism can be adjusted to counter this. In many windmills this is done by a governor that automatically compensates for the tendency of the runner to rise. In watermills it is done by hand with mechanisms of varying elegance. In this case, the second order lever at the bottom raises or lowers the footstep bearing that the spindle carrying the stone nut is supported by. The adjustment is by a vertical lead screw on the other side of the frame and in easy reach of the miller.