The Spoordonk Watermill - Spoordonk

The Spoordonkse Watermolen (situated on the Beerze between Oirschot and Spoordonk) was already mentioned in 1320 in writings and belonged to the castle Ten Bergh, within the manor of Oirschot. It is the last remaining mill along the Beerze, where there were five watermills in total. In the early 1900s, the mill was still a double grain and oil mill. In 1868, the wooden mill buildings were replaced by the present elongated building with room for two scoop wheels in the middle. The eastern part contained the grain mill and the western part used to house the oil mill. The former oil mill now houses a dwelling and a scoop wheel for power generation.

For a long time, the mill was owned successively by the noble families De Merode and Sweers de Landas and was leased to the Van Esch family in 1844. In 1900, this family became the official owner. The current miller, Emiel van Esch, is a descendant of this family. As soon as he took possession of the mill, he restored it to its former glory. He and his family live in one part of the mill building, using the other part for grinding. Van Esch would like to see the grains ground in his mill being used for typical regional products. The miller hopes to be able to distil old geneva in the near future, in cooperation with the liqueur museum in Hilvarenbeek. This would also do justice to the often-photographed advertisement on the mill for the defunct brand "Wyers Oude Jenever".

A coffee house has been built next to the windmill, where mill visitors can enjoy a tasty snack. In 2012, a second scoop wheel was put into operation again. This time for generating electrical energy. This wheel has a diameter of 6.50 metres, has 40 blades and a width of 80 cm. The new wheel is identical in design to the other water wheel, only 1 metre larger in diameter. Originally, the old wheel of the oil mill was also 6.50 metres in diameter.