Decorative objects that adorn the tops of buildings, weathervanes not only show the direction of the wind but also the architectural and sculptural trends of the period when they were designed and erected. Strutt’s North Mill has two weathervanes that used to adorn the Belper skyline and each has its own story to tell. The first was originally on the top of the West Mill clock tower, built to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, but it also bears the scars of a German air attack on Belper in 1945. The second was part of Blount’s hosiery factory, one of the many hosiery producers that were once based in Belper.
Constructed to mark the Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the West Mill clock tower was once a well-known Belper landmark, before its demolition in 1962. The upper part of the tower housed a water tank that fed the mill’s fire suppression system and on the top of the clock tower was a cupola with the mill bell, used to signal the start and end of each working day. On top of this was placed a weathervane with ‘1897’ in metal figures.
The Belper Mills: A post card view of the Belper mills. The West Mill weathervane is visible on top of the clock tower.
The weathervane, now on display in Strutt’s North Mill, bears the scars of an event in March 1945 when Belper found itself in the firing line of a war which many thought would soon be over. In the early hours of 4 March 1945, the peace of the town was shattered by a burst of cannon fire. This had been fired by a lone German raider, which had slipped across the North Sea, as part of a larger group of night fighters trying to shoot down British planes as they returned to their bases after a raid over Germany. One of these aircraft, a twin-engined Ju88 night fighter, flew over the town unleashing a stream of bullets and cannon shells which caused damage in a line from the Strutt Estate houses in William, George and Joseph streets all the way to the mills. The West Mill clock tower was directly in the line of fire and was hit multiple times. One round hit the ‘1’ in ‘1897’, removing it from the weathervane. Belper was fortunate that night as no one in the town was killed, although some residents had lucky escapes. Press reports from the day after the attack tell of lucky escapes where bullets passed inches over the heads of people as they slept and embedded themselves in the bed posts. The damage was relatively light, the chip shop at the top of William Street was damaged and was soon repaired and the events of that night were mostly forgotten, apart for a few memories and weathervane missing it ‘1’. The demolition of the West Mill in 1962 led to the removal of the weathervane which is now part of the collection of the Belper Historical Society and on display in Strutt’s North Mill, together with the Jubilee Bell that hung in the clock tower.
The West Mill Weathervane: The weathervane that used to top the West Mill Clock Tower from 1897 until its demolition in 1962.
Junker 88G night fighter: An aircraft of the type that attacked Belper. The radar set carried in the nose of these aircraft enabled the crew to find other aircraft in the dark. This aircraft was captured by British forces after the war and test flown for evaluation by the RAF, hence the British markings
Damage caused to the weathervane: Note the ‘1’ is missing from ‘1897’
The West Mill Clock Tower: A close view of the former West Mill Clock Tower taken from the roof of the West Mill. The weather vane is just visible on the top of the copular that houses the original West Mill Bell. This bell and the one that replaced it in the now clock tower are both preserved in Strutt’s North Mill Museum.
Blount’s hosiery factory Weathervane
Our next Weathervane was mounted of the top of one of the building of the Blount’s factory situated off Spencer Road, on the site now occupied by the Spencer Grove care home. Established by Fred Blount in the early 20th century, Blount’s was one of several knitting and hosiery firms in Belper. Together with Brettles, Jaeger and many other similar hosiery and knitwear producers, they provided employment to many people within the town. Topping their Spencer Road factory was the weathervane now on display in Strutts’s North Mill. Constructed from welded tubes, the vane – the part that moves with the wind – is modelled on a leg, said to be that of the manager’s wife. The Weathervane is signed by B. Cummings and the date 28th September 1988 scratched into the top part of the vane. It is not clear if this was made by the maker of the vane or was added later. However if it was the date the weathervane was made it was not a feature of Belper’s skyline for very long as it stood above the factory until it closed in the early 2000s, after which it was donated to mill.
Strutt’s North Mill Museum trustee, volunteer and former manager Mary Smedley has fond memories of the weathervane. The land that the Blount’s factory was built on was once part of her family’s farm and when Blount’s factory closed down, she was offered the weathervane for the museum. The Spencer Grove care home, opened in 2008, Springwood View retirement apartments and a number of private homes now occupy the site of the Spencer Road factory.
The two weathervanes, distinctive but overlooked parts of the Belper skyline, now reside in Strutt’s North Mill Museum. Both have an extraordinary story to tell, but are often missed by many visitors to the museum and the stories they can tell risks being forgotten. The unique shape of the Blount’s weathervane is what originally attracted our volunteers to nominate it as one of their favourite things and the subsequent research revealed its unique story to tell.