Passers by will have noticed that Drapers Mill is sporting a smart new colour scheme on its Fantail. The Fantail is like a small windmill and does the vital job of keeping the Old Mill’s cap and sweeps (sails) always pointing into the wind. The Fantail was the first part of the mill’s mechanism that was restored to working order by Drapers Windmill Trust back in 1971. The work was carried out by local bank clerk turned millwright Vincent Pargeter. After working hard in all weathers for over half a century, the time had come for the wooden blades of the fan to be replaced. Working closely with former KCC’s Conservation Officer, Luke Bonwick and millwright Paul Kemp, the Trust researched the archive to ensure that the Fantail was faithfully restored to its 19th century appearance. Archive photographs reveal that the Fantail Blades were once brightly painted, with their spokes and edges picked out in colour, rather than the plain white that they had been since 1971.Further research suggests that the mill’s owner at the time, Thomas Messiter Ind, ordered the decoration to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Trust Chair, Robin Colyer, said “This year is the 60th Anniversary of the foundation of Draper’s Windmill Trust – so it is fitting that the Red, White and Blue colours should reappear to mark our own Diamond Jubilee.”
The new blades were made by Paul Kemp in his Suffolk workshop and have recently been fitted by millwright Cam Southcott, assisted by volunteers as part of a programme to overhaul the sweeps and cap.