Pede's Molen

Hundelgem (Zwalm)

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Introduction
Historical notes
Geographical situation
Features
The hydraulic system
The equipment
The milling process
Conclusion
Portfolio

General overview

The information on this website is divided into several parts, amongst which you will find historical data about this particular water mill and a more technical description about the operation of the mill. Where possible, we have provided these chapters with a large variety of illustrations.

Introduction

A short introduction about Pede's Mill, before we delve into the history of this water mill, which dates back to the 17th century.

In this part, you will learn about the location of the water mill and about the different watercourses that feed it.

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Historical notes

We will look at old maps and other archival documents to find the first mention of the existence of the water mill.

In this part, you will find the different historical sources that we have consulted in order to illustrate the history of this particular mill.

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Features

Here you will find an exhaustive description of the features of this water mill, which is quite unique in the province of East Flanders (Belgium).

In this part, you will discover what the mill used to look like and which role the lime trees have on the brook's bank.

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Operation

We will explore in more detail the several elements that make up the mill. We will introduce some specific mill terminology and illustrate the various elements by means of drawings and pictures.

In this part, we will see how the driving force of the water is transformed into a circular movement and multiplied by a transmission mechanism, consisting of gears, pulleys and belts.

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History of mills

We will delve into the history of mills in all their forms: hand mills, mills driven by humans or animals, by wind or by water. We will also see that mills can be used for a wide variety of tasks and look at the history of the development of mills throughout the centuries until today.

Due to the extent of this subject, there is still a lot of preparation to be done. We hope to release the first chapters of this part during the year 2021.

In preparation

Portfolio

You will find two portfolios. Portfolio 1 provides an overview of pictures before the restoration took place. The oldest known pictures date from circa 1938.

In Portfolio 2, you will find pictures from the start of the restoration in 1999 to the first tests in 2000 with the now completely functional water wheel.

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