 when the mill was again tailwinded .   On the death of Alphonso Vincent in 1932 , his son George inherited the property . He lived at the site in an old lorry until his death in 1973 . The mill passed to his daughter , who sold it in 1974 to Mr and Mrs Humphries , who intended to convert it into a house . They later changed their minds and offered it for sale for restoration . In 1976 , the cap of the mill was blown to pieces in a gale . Thelnetham windmill was purchased by five members of the Suffolk Mills Group in November 1979 , and plans for restoration were made . The consortium consisted of Mark Barnard , Charles Dolman , Peter Dolman , David Pearce and Chris Seago . The derelict mill and an acre of land cost £ 6 @,@ 000 .   = = Restoration = =   The mill was restored over a period of six years . Much of the work was carried out by enthusiasts who used working holidays to repair the mill .   = = = 1979 – 1980 = = =   The consortium took possession of the mill in November 1979 . The first priority was to make the mill as weathertight as possible . Polythene sheets were spread on the dust floor of the mill to prevent further water penetration of the structure . The mill was surveyed and recorded . In spring 1980 , the dust floor partially collapsed and was removed as a safety measure . Scaffolding was erected to allow the fanstage to be dismantled , and the cap centering wheels were removed in preparation for the removal of the cap frame .   A two @-@ week work @-@ in was held at the end of July and beginning of August 1980 . Thirty @-@ three volunteers worked on the mill over the work @-@ in . Two new main floor beams for the dust floor were made from baulks of pitch pine which had previously been in a maltings at Bury St Edmunds . On 3 August 1980 , the windshaft and remaining sail fragments were removed by a mobile crane , followed by the cap frame and the cast @-@ iron curb sections .   New oak joists were laid on the dust floor and temporary boarding laid to provide a working platform for repairs to the top of the mill tower . The bin floor was removed , apart from one oak main beam which was repairable . A replacement main beam was made from pitch pine , and the oak beam was repaired . New oak joists were fitted , along with some salvaged from the original floor which were fit to be reused . One of these had previously been a whip from a Common sail . Some of the joists were made from pitch pine from the Eastbridge Windpump , which , following its collapse on 19 February 1977 , had been re @-@ erected at the Museum of East Anglian Life , Stowmarket . The sack hoist was dismantled to enable its repair , brickwork was repaired , and new lintels were made for some of the windows . A tarpaulin was secured over the mill tower to keep the weather out over winter . The floorboards on the bin floor were replaced and one of the two pairs of millstones was removed .   The work was financed by grants of £ 500 from the Council for the Preservation of Rural Essex , £ 250 from St Edmundsbury Borough Council , £ 200 from the Scarfe Trust , and £ 200 from the Suffolk Mills Group . Other donations and income amounted to £ 65 , with the balance of expenditure being met jointly by the five owners .   The " work @-@ in " was reported in both local and national media , including BBC Look East , Bury Free Press , Eastern Daily Press , East Anglian Daily Times , Daily Telegraph , and Radio Orwell .   = = = 1981 = = =   In the 1981 season two separate work @-@ ins were held , the first from 25 July to 2 August and the second from 22 August to 30 August . A total of 37 volunteers participated over the two weeks .   The millstones were removed from the stone floor , which was then repaired . One of the main beams was found to have been attacked by Death Watch beetles , and over a third of the elm beam was replaced with oak . The six supports for the hurst frame were repaired one at a time , as they bore the whole of the weight of the machinery above . One post required replacement . It had rotted and the floor had sunk by 4 inches ( 100 mm ) causing the second main floor beam to fracture . When this work had been completed , the stone floor was removed , including the second main floor beam , which was removed in one piece so that the most suitable route to install its replacement could be assessed .   The new main beam for the stone floor was installed and the ground floor was concreted . The stone floor was reconstructed , reusing the old stone bearers and those joists that were fit for reuse . Other joists were made new from oak or pitch
Ġwhen Ġthe Ġmill Ġwas Ġagain Ġtail wind ed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOn Ġthe Ġdeath Ġof ĠAlph onso ĠVincent Ġin Ġ1932 Ġ, Ġhis Ġson ĠGeorge Ġinherited Ġthe Ġproperty Ġ. ĠHe Ġlived Ġat Ġthe Ġsite Ġin Ġan Ġold Ġl orry Ġuntil Ġhis Ġdeath Ġin Ġ1973 Ġ. ĠThe Ġmill Ġpassed Ġto Ġhis Ġdaughter Ġ, Ġwho Ġsold Ġit Ġin Ġ1974 Ġto ĠMr Ġand ĠMrs ĠHumph ries Ġ, Ġwho Ġintended Ġto Ġconvert Ġit Ġinto Ġa Ġhouse Ġ. ĠThey Ġlater Ġchanged Ġtheir Ġminds Ġand Ġoffered Ġit Ġfor Ġsale Ġfor Ġrestoration Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1976 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcap Ġof Ġthe Ġmill Ġwas Ġblown Ġto Ġpieces Ġin Ġa Ġg ale Ġ. ĠThe l net ham Ġwind mill Ġwas Ġpurchased Ġby Ġfive Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe ĠSuffolk ĠMills ĠGroup Ġin ĠNovember Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġand Ġplans Ġfor Ġrestoration Ġwere Ġmade Ġ. ĠThe Ġconsortium Ġconsisted Ġof ĠMark ĠBarn ard Ġ, ĠCharles ĠDol man Ġ, ĠPeter ĠDol man Ġ, ĠDavid ĠPearce Ġand ĠChris ĠSe ago Ġ. ĠThe Ġdere lict Ġmill Ġand Ġan Ġacre Ġof Ġland Ġcost ĠÂ£ Ġ6 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRestoration Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmill Ġwas Ġrestored Ġover Ġa Ġperiod Ġof Ġsix Ġyears Ġ. ĠMuch Ġof Ġthe Ġwork Ġwas Ġcarried Ġout Ġby Ġenthusiasts Ġwho Ġused Ġworking Ġholidays Ġto Ġrepair Ġthe Ġmill Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ1979 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1980 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġconsortium Ġtook Ġpossession Ġof Ġthe Ġmill Ġin ĠNovember Ġ1979 Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġpriority Ġwas Ġto Ġmake Ġthe Ġmill Ġas Ġweather tight Ġas Ġpossible Ġ. ĠPoly the ne Ġsheets Ġwere Ġspread Ġon Ġthe Ġdust Ġfloor Ġof Ġthe Ġmill Ġto Ġprevent Ġfurther Ġwater Ġpenetration Ġof Ġthe Ġstructure Ġ. ĠThe Ġmill Ġwas Ġsurveyed Ġand Ġrecorded Ġ. ĠIn Ġspring Ġ1980 Ġ, Ġthe Ġdust Ġfloor Ġpartially Ġcollapsed Ġand Ġwas Ġremoved Ġas Ġa Ġsafety Ġmeasure Ġ. ĠSc aff olding Ġwas Ġerected Ġto Ġallow Ġthe Ġfan stage Ġto Ġbe Ġdismantled Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġcap Ġcent ering Ġwheels Ġwere Ġremoved Ġin Ġpreparation Ġfor Ġthe Ġremoval Ġof Ġthe Ġcap Ġframe Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġweek Ġwork Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġwas Ġheld Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof ĠJuly Ġand Ġbeginning Ġof ĠAugust Ġ1980 Ġ. ĠThirty Ġ@ - @ Ġthree Ġvolunteers Ġworked Ġon Ġthe Ġmill Ġover Ġthe Ġwork Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġ. ĠTwo Ġnew Ġmain Ġfloor Ġbeams Ġfor Ġthe Ġdust Ġfloor Ġwere Ġmade Ġfrom Ġb aul ks Ġof Ġpitch Ġpine Ġwhich Ġhad Ġpreviously Ġbeen Ġin Ġa Ġmalt ings Ġat ĠB ury ĠSt ĠEdmund s Ġ. ĠOn Ġ3 ĠAugust Ġ1980 Ġ, Ġthe Ġwind sh aft Ġand Ġremaining Ġsail Ġfragments Ġwere Ġremoved Ġby Ġa Ġmobile Ġcrane Ġ, Ġfollowed Ġby Ġthe Ġcap Ġframe Ġand Ġthe Ġcast Ġ@ - @ Ġiron Ġcurb Ġsections Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠNew Ġoak Ġjo ists Ġwere Ġlaid Ġon Ġthe Ġdust Ġfloor Ġand Ġtemporary Ġboarding Ġlaid Ġto Ġprovide Ġa Ġworking Ġplatform Ġfor Ġrepairs Ġto Ġthe Ġtop Ġof Ġthe Ġmill Ġtower Ġ. ĠThe Ġbin Ġfloor Ġwas Ġremoved Ġ, Ġapart Ġfrom Ġone Ġoak Ġmain Ġbeam Ġwhich Ġwas Ġrepair able Ġ. ĠA Ġreplacement Ġmain Ġbeam Ġwas Ġmade Ġfrom Ġpitch Ġpine Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġoak Ġbeam Ġwas Ġrepaired Ġ. ĠNew Ġoak Ġjo ists Ġwere Ġfitted Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġsome Ġsalv aged Ġfrom Ġthe Ġoriginal Ġfloor Ġwhich Ġwere Ġfit Ġto Ġbe Ġreused Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthese Ġhad Ġpreviously Ġbeen Ġa Ġwhip Ġfrom Ġa ĠCommon Ġsail Ġ. ĠSome Ġof Ġthe Ġjo ists Ġwere Ġmade Ġfrom Ġpitch Ġpine Ġfrom Ġthe ĠEast bridge ĠWind p ump Ġ, Ġwhich Ġ, Ġfollowing Ġits Ġcollapse Ġon Ġ19 ĠFebruary Ġ1977 Ġ, Ġhad Ġbeen Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġerected Ġat Ġthe ĠMuseum Ġof ĠEast ĠAng l ian ĠLife Ġ, ĠSt ow market Ġ. ĠThe Ġsack Ġho ist Ġwas Ġdismantled Ġto Ġenable Ġits Ġrepair Ġ, Ġbrick work Ġwas Ġrepaired Ġ, Ġand Ġnew Ġl int els Ġwere Ġmade Ġfor Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġwindows Ġ. ĠA Ġt arp aul in Ġwas Ġsecured Ġover Ġthe Ġmill Ġtower Ġto Ġkeep Ġthe Ġweather Ġout Ġover Ġwinter Ġ. ĠThe Ġfloor boards Ġon Ġthe Ġbin Ġfloor Ġwere Ġreplaced Ġand Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġtwo Ġpairs Ġof Ġmill stones Ġwas Ġremoved Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġwork Ġwas Ġfinanced Ġby Ġgrants Ġof ĠÂ£ Ġ500 Ġfrom Ġthe ĠCouncil Ġfor Ġthe ĠPreservation Ġof ĠRural ĠEssex Ġ, ĠÂ£ Ġ250 Ġfrom ĠSt ĠEdmund s bury ĠBorough ĠCouncil Ġ, ĠÂ£ Ġ200 Ġfrom Ġthe ĠScar fe ĠTrust Ġ, Ġand ĠÂ£ Ġ200 Ġfrom Ġthe ĠSuffolk ĠMills ĠGroup Ġ. ĠOther Ġdonations Ġand Ġincome Ġamounted Ġto ĠÂ£ Ġ65 Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġbalance Ġof Ġexpenditure Ġbeing Ġmet Ġjointly Ġby Ġthe Ġfive Ġowners Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġ" Ġwork Ġ@ - @ Ġin Ġ" Ġwas Ġreported Ġin Ġboth Ġlocal Ġand Ġnational Ġmedia Ġ, Ġincluding ĠBBC ĠLook ĠEast Ġ, ĠB ury ĠFree ĠPress Ġ, ĠEastern ĠDaily ĠPress Ġ, ĠEast ĠAng l ian ĠDaily ĠTimes Ġ, ĠDaily ĠTelegraph Ġ, Ġand ĠRadio ĠOrwell Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ1981 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ1981 Ġseason Ġtwo Ġseparate Ġwork Ġ@ - @ Ġins Ġwere Ġheld Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġfrom Ġ25 ĠJuly Ġto Ġ2 ĠAugust Ġand Ġthe Ġsecond Ġfrom Ġ22 ĠAugust Ġto Ġ30 ĠAugust Ġ. ĠA Ġtotal Ġof Ġ37 Ġvolunteers Ġparticipated Ġover Ġthe Ġtwo Ġweeks Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmill stones Ġwere Ġremoved Ġfrom Ġthe Ġstone Ġfloor Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġthen Ġrepaired Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthe Ġmain Ġbeams Ġwas Ġfound Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġattacked Ġby ĠDeath ĠWatch Ġbeetles Ġ, Ġand Ġover Ġa Ġthird Ġof Ġthe Ġel m Ġbeam Ġwas Ġreplaced Ġwith Ġoak Ġ. ĠThe Ġsix Ġsupports Ġfor Ġthe Ġhur st Ġframe Ġwere Ġrepaired Ġone Ġat Ġa Ġtime Ġ, Ġas Ġthey Ġbore Ġthe Ġwhole Ġof Ġthe Ġweight Ġof Ġthe Ġmachinery Ġabove Ġ. ĠOne Ġpost Ġrequired Ġreplacement Ġ. ĠIt Ġhad Ġro tted Ġand Ġthe Ġfloor Ġhad Ġsunk Ġby Ġ4 Ġinches Ġ( Ġ100 Ġmm Ġ) Ġcausing Ġthe Ġsecond Ġmain Ġfloor Ġbeam Ġto Ġfracture Ġ. ĠWhen Ġthis Ġwork Ġhad Ġbeen Ġcompleted Ġ, Ġthe Ġstone Ġfloor Ġwas Ġremoved Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġsecond Ġmain Ġfloor Ġbeam Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġremoved Ġin Ġone Ġpiece Ġso Ġthat Ġthe Ġmost Ġsuitable Ġroute Ġto Ġinstall Ġits Ġreplacement Ġcould Ġbe Ġassessed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġnew Ġmain Ġbeam Ġfor Ġthe Ġstone Ġfloor Ġwas Ġinstalled Ġand Ġthe Ġground Ġfloor Ġwas Ġconc ret ed Ġ. ĠThe Ġstone Ġfloor Ġwas Ġreconstructed Ġ, Ġre using Ġthe Ġold Ġstone Ġbe arers Ġand Ġthose Ġjo ists Ġthat Ġwere Ġfit Ġfor Ġreuse Ġ. ĠOther Ġjo ists Ġwere Ġmade Ġnew Ġfrom Ġoak Ġor Ġpitch