Mill Ter Rijst

Molen Ter Rijst is a windmill in the East Flanders municipality of Herzele. It is one of the three still functioning windmills in Herzele.

The construction of the mill began around 1794. It only became operational four years later. The mill building, constructed in the same style as the Tapmolen in Haaltert, dates from 1804. Before that, the miller lived in a house located about 50 meters further along the road to Grotenberge, formerly called “Hofstede Van Daele,” which completely burned down around 1910 and was later rebuilt. The total cost of the land, mill, house, and adjacent buildings was estimated at that time to be 80,000 gold francs.

At the end of the 18th century, during the French period, many properties and monastery goods in Flanders were confiscated or declared forfeited and sold publicly. This was also the case with the now long-gone wooden windmill near the church of Sint-Antelinks. The then-miller, Bernard Van Daelem (although having the necessary capital), refused or dared not to buy the mill, as it was said at the time "whoever bought confiscated monastery or church property was doomed." So he searched for a suitable place to build a new mill, which is how he ended up at Rijstkouter in Herzele and the “Ter Rijst” mill was born.

Due to a lack of funds, he could not complete the mill; he was not doomed in Sint-Antelinks, he was now in Herzele. That is what the millers living in the area told at that time. The unfinished mill was sold. Yet Van Daelem was the first miller at the new mill, not as the owner, but as a miller’s guest. The unfinished mill was acquired in 1797 by Armand De Graeve from Haaltert, a miller's son from the Tapmolen in Haaltert. This was a miller family. One of them continued to reside at the Tapmolen, the second owned a wooden windmill on Hoogstraat in Haaltert, a third owned the “Ter Rijst” mill in Herzele, and the fourth son was the owner of the watermill in Mere. Thus in 1798, Armand De Graeve from Haaltert became the first owner of Molen Ter Rijst. In 1850, the mill was inherited by his godchild Armand De Graeve, who settled there with his two sons and three daughters. One of these later married Jean Baptiste De Pril from Grotenberge in 1871. He established himself as a sacristan in Sint-Lievens-Houtem. After the premature death of both, their seven children moved in with uncles and aunts living in Herzele who had remained unmarried. Among them was the future owner Nemorin De Pril and the father of the later owner Cyriel De Pril. In 1909, after the death of the last of the De Graeve lineage, the mill was entrusted to Nemorin De Pril, the grandson of Armand De Graeve. Nemorin De Pril was married to Marie Van Der Zwalmen, and they had no descendants. Since his older brother Cyriel, living in Haaltert and married to Emma Van Den Steen, passed away prematurely, their two sons, Joseph and Jules, were raised by Nemorin De Pril. It was upon the death of the latter in 1958 that according to his last will and testament, the mill became the property of his godchild Joseph De Pril.
Joseph is the last miller of the “Ter Rijst” mill. He is the one who saved the mill from further decay. Since 1975, Molen Ter Rijst, which was classified as a monument in 1974, has been owned by the VZW “Molen Ter Rijst Vrienden.” This association was founded in 1973 with the aim of rescuing the severely dilapidated mill from destruction and making it operational again.

In October 1978, the first restoration works began. The costs were mainly borne by the state, the province, and the municipality. Unfortunately, this restoration was not successful. The original goal of making the mill operational was not achieved. The legal proceedings that followed were halted by the VZW after ten years. They had cost a lot of money and yielded nothing.

To put a definitive stop to the decay of the mill, a number of urgent works were necessary. As part of a new policy of the Flemish Government regarding monument care, the VZW was able to obtain subsidies again in 1993. The second restoration was indeed a success. Since September 1993, Molen Ter Rijst has been operational again and has three pairs of millstones.

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