| Eastbridge Windpump | |
|---|---|
 Eastbridge Windpump as restored at the Museum of East Anglian Life | |
 | |
| Origin | |
| Mill name | Eastbridge Windpump |
| Mill location | TM 045 580 |
| Coordinates | 52°10′56″N0°59′32″E / 52.18222°N 0.99222°E /52.18222; 0.99222 |
| Operator(s) | Museum of East Anglian Life |
| Year built | 1979 |
| Information | |
| Purpose | drainage mill |
| Type | Smock mill |
| Smock sides | Eight sides |
| No. of sails | Four Sails |
| Type of sails | Patent sails |
| Windshaft | Cast iron |
| Winding | Fantail |
| Fantail blades | Six blades |
| Type of pump | Three-throw plunger pump |
Eastbridge Windpump is asmock mill that served as apumping station until it was relocated to theMuseum of East Anglian Life,Stowmarket,Suffolk,England and which was then restored to working order.
Eastbridge Windpump was probably built in the mid nineteenth century by Robert Martin, theBecclesmillwright.[1] It was originally part of the structures built to maintain the drainage of theMinsmere Levels,Eastbridge,Leiston (TM 468 662).[2] In the early 1920s, millwright Dan England ofLudham reinforced the mill by bolting the frame from a nearby smock mill (TM 475 659), which had collapsed, over the weatherboarding.[3] It worked by wind until 1940. After thewar, an iron windpump was erected nearby to take over from Eastbridge Windpump. On 19 February 1977, Eastbridge Windpump collapsed.[4] The remains were dismantled by members of Suffolk Mills Group in July 1977 and later incorporated into the rebuilt mill at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. The restoration work was done by Jameson Marshall Ltd.[2]
Eastbridge windpump is a 30 feet (9.14 m) high smock mill on a brick base of a few courses. It has a boat-shaped cap and is winded by afantail. The fourPatent sails are carried on a cast-ironwindshaft. They span 44 feet (13.41 m). The cast-ironbrake wheel drives a cast-ironwallower carried on a cast-ironupright shaft. A cast-ironcrown wheel drives a three-throw plunger pump, which has cylinders 1 foot (305 mm) square.[3]
Eastbridge Windpump is open to the public and may be viewed externally during normal opening times of the Museum of East Anglian Life.[5]