Molen van Maat

The 's-Gravenzandse Molen van Maat (popularly called so after the former owner; officially the mill has no name) is an octagonal tower mill with a stone substructure that is painted white. The superstructure is covered with zinc plates. The mill was built in 1909 to supplement a steam-powered mill, because wind-powered milling was cheaper. Parts of an old mill that had been demolished a few years earlier were used during construction. This was a polder mill from Alphen aan den Rijn that drained the Kerk en Zanen polder there. Three pairs of grinding stones were placed in the mill, two of which were used for grinding livestock feed. Two of these three couples have been removed, partly to make room for a mixing boiler. The remaining flock was milled on the wind until the mid-1960s. Afterwards the mill fell into disrepair.

The mill was restored in 1977, after which it was ready to grind again. That lasted until about 2000, when it became apparent that a lot of maintenance was needed on the interior of the mill. The mill was restored in 2001/2002, during which the mill building was demolished. Nowadays the mill runs on the last Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Three pairs of grinding stones have been installed again, one of which is electrically driven.

The mill, which is located right along the Naaldwijkseweg, is iconic for the area. The mill is visible from miles around. Since the restoration in 1977, the mill has been equipped with a sail cross equipped with the Fauël system. This was replaced in 2012. On February 6, 2014 at approximately 10:00 PM the sail cross fell down during strong winds. The mill was shut down at that time after a test run for recordings for the local television broadcaster the next day. Exactly two years later, on February 6, 2016, the mill was put back into operation.

Source: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molen_van_Maat