The mill from 1860

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The History of Løve Mølle

The first mill which we know about for sure in town was built in 1860.

Some sources claim that a very long time ago, there was a Stump Mill in Løve, but no one has ever been able to prove it. On the contrary, the narratives of the parish from 1787 and forth do not mention anything about mills, nor about millers.

What is sure, is that in 1860 a windmill of the Dutch gallery-type was built on Kappelbjerg, a large hill South of the original village with a view of a large part of the landscape of Western Sealand; in clear weather you can even see Fyn on the horizon behind The Great Belt.

The mill was built by the innkeeper Søren Christensen together with Miller Ferdinand Dedenroth in Høng.

The idea to build a mill was probably born form the fact that, on top of being a Baker with 2 bakeries, the innkeeper also had a farm with appr. 50 acres of land to grow. He could grow his corn himself, and with a mill he could also grind the flour!

The land for the mill was a parcel of the farm that was later called “Lottershøj”. During the year, the mill was built on the land.

The picture shows what the first mill probably looked like. The drawing was made by a relative to the mill builder who built the mill.

You can see from the picture that also the bottom of the mill was octagonal. The mill itself was insured for 7500 “rigsdaler” (appr. 15000 Danish Kroner). The bottom of the building was 5 “alen” high (appr. 3 meters), the wall was 19 inches thick and made on a base of boulders. The smallest diameter was of 13 “alen” (appr. 8 meters). From the bottom round to the hat, the mill measured 14 “alen” (a little less than 9 meters). The hat itself measured 6 “alen” (3,8 meters).

The mill had 2 drive-through gates. The top building (the “body”) contained 3 ceilings. The bottom ceiling had 2 shredders, a fig shredder and a grits sorter.

The middle ceiling had 2 shredders, each of a diameter of 9 quarters. On the third ceiling was the hoist used to lift the corn bags up into the mill.

In the hat ceiling was placed the driving construction of the mill, which consisted of a lying shaft and a standing barrier, just like in the existing mill.

In 1865, Søren Christensen became sole owner of the mill. In 1870, he added a brick building with a shingle roof on the South side of the mill. On the middle ceiling, another shredder was eventually added.

In 1875, Søren sold all of his businesses to a man from Langeland, Jørgen Andersen Jørgensen for 100 000 Danish Kroner. Søren Christensen had created a flourishing business. At that time, the Inn had become a place with a fine reputation where you could stop on the long way from Slagelse to Kalundborg, and since the main road was just outside, the inn became a regular stop for the day coach driving between the two towns.

The Mill in the “Madam Andersen” era :

Jørgen Andersen died just a few years after having bought the business, and his widow Maren Hansdatter (known as “Madam Andersen”) carried on in his place, and she did it with a firm hand!

But in 1881, disaster occurred!

The Mill burns and is rebuilt :

During the night between the 20^th and the 21^st of January, 1881, the mill burned down.

Of course, this meant a huge break in the work of the Mill, and the mill had to be rebuilt as quickly as possible.

This was done during the same year, and in the Autumn the mill we know today was ready to take over. The mill builder had been stocking timber for Mullerup Mølle. It was meant for a square bottom building, which had to be established first in Løve. This is why the new mill is not octagonal in the bottom building.

The newspaper clip to the left is from Sorø Amtstidende, January 22^nd, 1881.

During the era of Widow Andersen, the inn had a very good reputation and was often booked for parties, political meetings and so on, just like it was when Søren Christensen owned it.

The new mill :

The new mil turned out to be a large one. It measures 19 meters from the ground to the top of the hat. The wings are made of two arms going all the way through, each of 22 meters, and with a weight of appr. 1 ½ tons. The wings and the hat together weigh 10 tons (or 20 000 pounds!).

Because of its height and its situation in the landscape – 41 m above sea level – the mill can be seen from the Belt and has been used as a landmark by fishermen and other mariners.

Christian the 10^th and Løve Mølle :

When he was young, Prince Christian, later on Christian X, was an officer together with the sons of Carl Emil Appeldorn of Løvegaard. Therefore, the Prince has visited the mill – some say several times – to enjoy the view from there. We know from a handwritten note above the Western window on the shredder loft that “on Friday, September 23^rd 1898, Prince Christian and the sons of Mr Appeldorn visited the mill”.

The new generation takes over :

In 1902, Oluf Jørgensen, the widow’s son, took over the inn and the mill. In 1910, he had a petroleum motor installed in its own motor house next to the mill. In 1913, the wings were transformed in order to “let the wind pass”, so as not to turn to quickly during sudden storms for instance.

In 1917, he sold the business to “Brugsforeningen for Gierslev Sogn og Omegn” (a cooperative of smaller utility and grocery stores). The old inn was made into a display room for the store. In 1966, the Cooperative was closed and today, the buildings are owned privately.

The mill was run by the cooperative by tenants. In 1921, the tenant was called Jacob Bay. He applied to get out of the lease, and this was granted provided he find a replacement who would take over the lease of 3000 DKK a year. Bay found a replacement, Ole Pedersen, who at that time worked in Kalundborg. He took over on March 1^st, 1921.

Two years later, Ole Pedersen applied to buy the mill. It was decided during a General Assembly to sell it to him for 14 000 DKK.

Ole Pedersen bought a piece of land just South of the mill. Here, he built a house for himself and his family. The house was finished in 1924; it is now owned by the Danish Veteran Cars’ Club.

In 1927, the Miller had install diesel engines in the mill so the work did not suffer much when a lightening stroke in the mill wings in 1930 made wind power impossible. The lightening had put to pieces a beam in the loft, and also destroyed the electrical installation all the way to the farm house where the Miller and his family slept on the first floor. Luckily no one was hurt, and the lightening did not start a fire. The damages amounted to 875 DKK – a lot of money at the time!