The windmill of the Paddegat

The horse mill at the Paddegat is a round brick horse mill from 1854, located on the south side of Paddegatstraat (no. 3), at the junction with Stalhilseweg in Ettelgem (Gistel).

The horse mill stands to the north of the yard. It is constructed of yellow brick (21 x 10 x 5.5 cm) under a hexagonal tiled tent roof, with an external diameter of six meters. There is an entrance at the front, and at the rear, there are three hatch openings, each with 2 thief bars.
The horse mill operated until 1930. The last technical part of the mill, the gallows with brackets, was purchased in 1976 by the Province for the horse mill in the Provincial Domain Tillegembos.
The king's post rested on the floor. Behind it lay a pair of millstones. The crown gear engaged with a pinion above which was a larger pinion that drove the disk runner on the pawl indicator. In a beam behind the central shaft, there are still traces related to the drive mechanism.
Two horses worked against the direction of the clock hands; there was no lever and someone always had to walk behind the horses.
Both fine (for baking) and coarse (for animal feed) grinding was done. It is said that up to 300 kg was ground per hour.

The farm with the outbuildings, including the horse mill, is not protected as a monument, but is included in the established inventory of architectural heritage.

Luc DEVLIEGHER & Lieven DENEWET

Toerisme Bredene