The water wheel on display in the corridor at Weverijmuseum in Geldrop is in danger of shutting down. There are not enough volunteers to keep the Sagebien waterwheel running. Volunteer Hans Tielemans, manager of the water wheel, therefore hopes for help.
“The so-called Sagebien waterwheel is a high-efficiency waterwheel that was developed in the mid-1800s for, what at the time, were large companies. In the watermill world it is called the ‘Rolls Royce’ among waterwheels,” Tielemans says.
Only one of this type of waterwheel still runs in the Netherlands and it is in the weaving museum in Geldrop. The previous water wheel had too little capacity to drive expansion of the factory. Therefore, in 1874, the then owner of the weaving mill replaced it with the Sagebien high efficiency wheel.
Replica
Until 1920, the wheel powered the fulling and rinsing mill. In that year it was shut down and dismantled. Some eighty years later, the municipality of Geldrop restored the old weaving mill buildings and hung back a replica of this wheel.
“Since then, they have occasionally run this wheel. In 2012, a few more planks and the bearings were replaced because the wheel had been sitting idle too often and too little maintenance had been done,” Tielemans says.
Too little expertise
“From then on, someone managed the wheel and ran it regularly, but unfortunately there was not enough expertise in the mill field. In October 2015, a group of volunteer millers took charge of the wheel and kept it running around the clock.”
The wheel has been stationary during this time only for necessary daily and major maintenance. In 2021, the municipality installed another motor/dynamo, with the intention of generating electricity. This did not succeed because the difference in height of the water near the wheel was too small.
Manual power
Running the wheel requires human hands. However, the group of volunteers has thinned out over time. There is one person left and therefore the wheel is now in danger of shutting down again. ‘This person, too, will probably stop managing the water wheel at the end of this year,’ Tielemans broods.
“Therefore, we are looking for a few enthusiastic volunteers who have the passion and the time, including on weekdays, to maintain the wheel”. Anyone interested can come by Weverijmuseum in Geldrop almost every Saturday between 1pm and 4pm.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Vanya
Added by editor: For anyone interested in the waterwheel developed by Alphonse Sagebien, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagebien_wheel
