A Pair of Windmills at Drinkstone and Pakenham

A pair of spinning Suffolk windmills star in this short film from 1966

The film starts at Drinkstone Mill where we see the sails of the 17th century windmill turning. A group of visitors make their way to the windmill. We then move to Pakenham, also in Suffolk, where the sails of a different type of windmill, built in the 19th century, also turn. We see some moody shots of the mill and its structure before the film comes to an end.

The mills seen in this film represent two types of windmill technology. Drinkstone's mill, which dates from 1689, making it Suffolk's oldest working windmill, is an example of a 'post' mill. The entire structure is built around a central post which enables it to be rotated into the direction of the wind. The mill became derelict after storm damage in 1949 and was restored to working order in 1962. Pakenham's windmill is an example of a tower mill. It is a five storey structure with a rotating domed cap driven by a fan tail that moves the sails into the wind. The mill has had a number of restorations and once appeared in an episode of the BBC's post-apocalyptic TV series 'Survivors' .