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This Apprenticeship Indenture marks the birth of a millwright. This Gem is an indenture between the millwright and engineer Thomas Pilbeam, and his new apprentice, Charles William Dew. Dated to the 14th October 1865, it agrees that Charles Dew will work for five years, and promises his good and lawful behaviour. In return he will be…
‘It consists of a windmill, but one totally different in appearance and principle from all windmills known hitherto.’ This is a Ventimotor, designed by an Artillery Officer. It is a very early version of an electricity-producing wind turbine. Designed by Major Kurt Bilau, it makes use of principles from aeroplane design to produce greater centrifugal…
Using the power of wind to bring water to Wiltshire. This Gem is a series of designs which were drawn for a proposed windmill that would have driven pumps for water as part of the country’s smallest water company. The designs were for H.C. Stephens Esq, a highly successful businessman, M.P. and well-loved philanthropist. His…
These tools of war enabled centuries of explosive bloodshed. This Gem is an adjustable copper measure for gunpowder and shot. Without these, it would once have been impossible for riflemen and sportsmen to reliably measure the correct amount of powder for their weapon and launch projectiles. To work it, one would twist the bottom of…
This curious contraption is a chondrometer and is used for measuring the quality of grain. This unusual Gem is a chondrometer: a measuring instrument designed to determine the bulk density of grain. It is essentially a specialised set of scales, with a small pot for the grain on one side, and a counterweight that slides…
One of the oldest books in our collection, a guide for centuries of millwrights. This fascinating Gem is an enormous folio-sized book called the Theatrum Machinarum Universale of Groot Algemeen Moolen Boek, which translates as the Universal Theatre of Machines or Large General Mills Book. It was produced by Johannis van Zyl and Jan Schenk as a reference…
‘Safe as a thief in a mill.’ Millers have historically had a terrible reputation. Old sayings such as ‘honest millers have hairy palms’ and ‘safe as a thief in a mill’, show how unpopular they were in their local communities. They were accused of stealing more than was due to them, as well as having…
