Since the days of Don Quixote, windmills and quests have been intimate
bedfellows. Peter Hedges' quest was to photograph all the standing
windmill remains in England and Wales, a quest he largely undertook
between 1989 and 1995. Whilst he never completed his quest, he did build up
a substantial collection of photographs of about 700 windmills throughout
the UK.
The trips on which he took his photographs were meticulously planned. Much of the work in locating the windmills or their remains was performed by a painstaking square by square search of the Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 maps, and indeed Peter corresponded with the Ordnance Survey itself, to inform them of both omissions, and inclusions of since demolished mills. The trips themselves, accomplished in Peter's distinctive Red Volkswagen Beetle, could last for days, with each day's targets, and hence that night's accomodation carefully planned ahead of time. The results of the trips were written up in Peter's neat handwriting - with all photos so well identified and dated that is a pleasure to deal with them. Following the death of his wife, Peter took less trips, but living in Alkborough, Lincolnshire, he was still within sight of a windmill. He kept up his interest, and produced a slide show presentation on windmills, which included research on his local mill at Alkborough.
About Peter Extracts from Peter's collection are presented on this site, thanks to the generosity of his son and daughter-in-law. As time permits, more of the photos will be included. Photos will be found on appropriate pages throughout the site. |
Marsh Mill: Thornton, Lancashire, 2/4/89 - {The Peter Hedges Collection} with Peter's Volkswagen Beetle parked nearby |
Last updated 03/03/2017 |
Text and images © Mark Berry,
1997-2017 -
Some images © The Peter Hedges collection |