Felin Isaf

It strikes my as a very modern idea to use dual power sources, this mill called Felin Isaf in Anglesey, the island just off the North Wales coast.  When the water levels were low, it could use wind power.  When there was no wind it could use water. 

It was built in 1835 and continued in use until 1930, when the sails were taken off.  It used water power alone for a time but it was accidentally largely destroyed by fire in 1975.  It has since been restored and is rented out as a holiday property.

The card was posted in 1908 in Rhosneigr, a village on Anglesey.  The message is a little odd:

"Dear Bessie, I hope you are taking the kittens out for a walk".

Maud Foster Windmill

This card is one from my father's collection and almost certainly dates from the 1960s.  It shows the Maud Foster Windmill, now one of Britain's finest working windmills.  It was built in 1819 but by 1948 mechanical problems had made the mill unworable.

In 1987, the mill was bought and extensive restoration has returned it to full working order.

In an effort to find out why it was called Maud Foster Windmill, I have found out that what I thought was a canal, is in fact a channel cut in 1568 in an effort to drain the Fens.  It is called the Maud Foster Drain.  I'm still no further in finding out who Maud Foster was in the first place.