Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. - Bible, Matthew 13 (31-32)
Pede's Mill is an autonomous building. This type is rarely found in the province of East Flanders. At the back there is a door which, due to difference in height of the river bank, gives direct access to the upper floor. This door is situated right next to the dam, from where the miller can operate the sluice. Inside the mill, a wooden staircase connects the lower and upper floors. The staircase is relatively narrow and quite steep, in order to create more useful space on both levels. At the back we note traces of the existence of a window next to the staircase. The opening of this window is now blocked with bricks.
The lower level only receives light from the front, which looks out onto the court and stables. At the end of the 20th century, the main entry used to be wider and had a double door, but it has now been narrowed and brought back to its original state. The window on the front façade, situated between the door and the brook, sheds light onto the « pit » with the « track wheel », « spur wheels » and « tentering » (see further chapters for these terms). The ground floor has no other windows at the back or side walls.
The upper level has a window and also a loading door at the front, which is situated just above the main entry. Through this loading door, equipment or other heavy objects could be lifted to the first floor by means of a pulley block. The same door also allowed sacks of flour to be transported to the courtyard, where they were loaded directly onto carts. At the east facing side wall, we find two smaller openings above the brook. These openings are equipped with hinged shutters and allow the miller to see the sluice and the water wheel from the millstone attic.
At the west wall we find another window, which makes the upper level the best illuminated room of the mill.
We would like to highlight the fine construction of the wall at the side of the brook: the lower part is carried out in white stone from Balegem. This type of pale sandstone is a local product and is typical for this region of Belgium. It is much more resistant to splashing water than porous brick.
Where we look at other maps to see the widening of the brook upstream and pinpoint the location of a separate mill pond to store water in drier conditions.