History Part 1.)

When we moved to Heeswijk Dinther some 3.5 years ago, we did not know the place at all. We had no ties with it, there was no family, and I might have been there 2x in my life before we went to live there.

But soon after we came to live here we discovered that Heeswijk Dinther still has quite a bit of history. And also interesting objects that have really stood the test of time. Such as, for example :

THE KILDONKSE MILL.

The history of De Kilsdonkse Molen goes back at least to the Middle Ages. A founding deed has not been found so far. But in the Ship protocols of Den Bosch there is an act of 30 August 1433, in which a part of the property of "a water mill with two wheels, located in the parish of Dinther at a place called Kilsdonck" is transferred. This is the oldest known document, in which the mill is explicitly mentioned. The deed shows that the mill already existed for some time.

The Kildonkse Molen is located in the brook valley of the river De Aa. And the water drainage of the Aa have always been problematic. Especially at Dinther, flooding quickly resulted in damage to the crops. For that reason, it was already determined in 1491 that the mill could only be operated from October to March. The rest of the year the water had to be able to flow freely.

For a long time De Kilsdonkse Mill and Heeswijk windmill were in the same hand and were often even served by the same miller. The ban on working with the water mill in the summer did not have any serious consequences for the farmers and the miller.

In 1799 the mills were sold by Mr. van Heeswijk and then came in different hands. For Nicolaas Coppens, the new owner of De Kilsdonkse Molen, it became a problem that he was not allowed to grind in the summer, and he soon asked for permission to build a windmill at the water mill. This permit was long refused. Finally, in 1813, Coppens built a windmill without permission. Both the corn and oil mill (both watermills) and the windmill were made of wood.

In 1840, when the mills were owned by Cornelis van Aert, the complex burned down. Van Aert immediately started rebuilding in 1842. And as the Kildonkse Molen was rebuilt in 1842, he still stands today today. In the brook valley of the river De Aa.

Since 1842 the complex has consisted of a flour mill (right bank) and an oil mill (left bank). The flour mill could be driven by both wind and water power. The Kilsdonkse Molen is still one of the few remaining mills that ever brought the banks of the Aa to life.

During the construction of the Kilsdonkse Molen, valuable materials were used at the time. Various technical constructions found here a first or at least early application.
The buildings provide information about the history of the local economy and about the development of mill construction in general. They testify to the entrepreneurial spirit and progressiveness of Builder Cornelis van Aert. Some details indicate that Van Aert was familiar with mill construction at home and abroad.

Today the Kildonkse Molen is no longer professionally in use ... but the wheel and the sails rotate when the volunteers of the foundation "friends of the mill" are active. The mill has become an educational tourist attraction, so that it still serves its original purpose. It is still an oil and flour mill!

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