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European Post Mills

Type Object Region Europe Time c. 1100–1800

The post mill was the most common small windmill type in Europe from the Middle Ages to the early modern period: the entire mill body rested on a tru…

Timeline

  1. c. 1100–1200England and the Low Countries · England and the Low CountriesThe post mill used a central post to support a mill body that could rotate as a whole, with the sails adjusted via levers to face the wind; it was used mainly for grinding grain. Its relatively simple structure was suitable for construction and maintenance by villages themselves.
  2. 1200–1400Western and Central Europe · Rhine basin and North Sea coastThe number of windmills grew rapidly across the plains of Western Europe; besides grinding wheat, they were also used for pressing oil and sawing wood. Routine WINDMILL charters granted by parishes and manors made them part of the rural economic landscape, and wind power became a land-based energy source on par with the waterwheel.
  3. 1500–1800Netherlands and the North Sea coast · NetherlandsIn the Netherlands and elsewhere, larger tower mills and hollow post mills were developed for drainage and industrial purposes; the post mill form persisted in grain grinding but gradually gave way, and steam power around the Industrial Revolution further reduced its economic share.

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