Object number
51/404
Description
Mill bill, a tool consisting of a bill and a thrift. Used for dressing millstones. Used at Houghton Conquest windmill in Bedfordshire.
A mill bill is a hammer-like hand tool consisting of a bill (steel wedge) and a thrift (wooden handle). It is used for dressing millstones by the process of 'cracking' so that the correct grinding action is achieved between the upper stone, or 'runner', and the lower 'bed-stone'. This mill bill was used at Houghton Conquest windmill in Bedfordshire, which had been in the donor's family for over 100 years. The mill was last worked around 1899.
Physical description
1 mill bill: wood; metal; good condition
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This mill bill was used at Houghton Conquest windmill near Bedford, owned by the Chesher family for over 100 years. The mill has not been worked since William Chesher’s time i.e. about 1899, and this bill had been in use for many years before that date. // The mill bill is used for dressing mill stones, so that the correct grinding action is achieved between the upper stone or RUNNER and the lower or BED-STONE. The method of dressing varies. The number of main grooves or master furrows vary, it seems, from eight to ten, forming the same number of quarters or HARPS. Smaller grooves, called secondary furrows, cracked the surface or LAND further. The mill bill consists of a wooden turned handle called a THRIFT, with a section cut right through the head. Into this is inserted a steel wedge, tapered square at either end, which is actually the mill bill, though in practice the name refers to the whole too. The hole for the steel is so shaped that with each blow the metal is wedged further in, helped usually by a piece of leather serving as a wedge. // The process is known as ‘cracking’. It is done along predetermined lines, by letting the bill fall down on the stone, making chip after chip like stitching. It might take from a day and a half to three days to dress a stone, according to its composition. // The thrift of this tool measures 17.5 inches in length and the head is 10 inches in diameter, and is turned. // The metal bill is 6.5 inches in length and is 1.5 inches in width.'
Production date
1825-01-01 - 1874-12-31
Production period
Mid-nineteenth century
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_438.tif - High resolution image
