The Beeleigh Hurst   While most hursts were constructed from timber, Beeleigh Mill’s hurst is unusual being made of cast iron. Its power source was the Wentworth steam engine.

Power Transmission  The horizontal axle of the engine flywheel rotates the cast iron pit wheel. This pit wheel engages with the wooden-toothed wallower. The wallower, in turn, rotates the vertical drive shaft. Mounted on this drive shaft is the wooden-toothed great spur wheel.

Millstone Control   Around the hurst, stone shafts and nuts (drive-gears) are positioned at regular intervals. These can be engaged with or disengaged from the spur wheel, allowing the miller to control which millstones operate.

Tentering Mechanism  The stone shafts are supported by foot-step bearings within the tentering mechanism. This mechanism allowed the miller to adjust the height of the stone shaft, thereby setting the gap between the upper (runner) and lower (bed) millstones for optimal grinding.

Benefits of Wooden Gears  Wood avoided metal-to-metal contact, which could ignite flour dust in the flammable environment. Wood also offered quieter operation compared to metal gears and would break in the event of millstones jamming, protecting the more critical components.

Performance and Limitations  The hurst enabled millstones to rotate at 80-120 rpm using an engine speed of 20-30 rpm. Decoupling the engine from the hurst was not possible due to the lack of an easy disconnect mechanism.  Space constraints of the building limited Beeleigh Mill’s hurst to five stone shafts, even though it could accommodate six.

Structural Support  The hurst is mounted on a curved timber ring resting on a brick foundation. The hurst’s columns support the Stone Floor above, transferring the weight of the millstones to the hurst foundation instead of the building’s outer walls.

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