De Otter windmill is a protected monument and incredibly rare survivor of revolutionary timber processing technology from the Dutch golden age.
Following a research and design phase, we built a working reconstruction of the crane used to lift trees from the canal level below, up to the sawing floor prior to conversion.
The existing crane had suffered significant decay and had been unsafe to use for a number of years. Following reconstruction the windmill is once again able to process trees into timber for construction.
Repairs were also carried out to the roof structure and external timber cladding followed by redecoration.
In 2024 Louis gave a talk to the ICOMOS UK Wood committee on this type of sawmill with particular emphasis on The Otter and this is available below.
