By Francoise Giacalone and Lynn Costenaro
Meet Harry Eyre, a restless dreamer who landed in Antigua and then spotted Saba, where he and his wife, Audrey, made a home.
One day, perhaps looking for a way to keep her then 70-year-old husband occupied, Audrey asked, “Can you build a mill?” After mulling over the concept, Harry began to build Saba’s most unique building. As a master carpenter with a flair for design and a wry sense of humor, Harry was well equipped to build a new “traditional” mill.
Plans were secured from a Dutchman living in Australia. The entire project took three years from start to finish (2015-2018). Harry worked five hours a day, hiring help only to pour concrete and affix the sails to the dome. The first year was dedicated to the ground, the landscaping and infrastructure. The next two years were dedicated to erecting the mill.
The base circumference of the mill is 63 feet. It is 40 inches thick, constructed internally of 8-inch concrete blocks reinforced with steel rebar. The outside of the mill is made entirely of volcanic stones found on the property and hand cut to size. A waterproof membrane lies between the concrete blocks and the stone cladding. Each of the three floors features 10-foot ceilings. One of the more unusual features is an ingenious internal floating staircase connecting the floors. Window placement was carefully selected to allow panoramic views of the Caribbean.
What really sets this mill apart is its roof. Unlike mills of yesteryear, the Welsh-fabricated dome and sails make this mill a contemporary masterpiece of form and function. Designed with the aid of a structural engineer to withstand hurricanes, the dome is made of fiberglass encircled by steel supports. It took three men to move each of twelve fiberglass sections of the dome. The 20-foot sails are made of galvanized steel coated in fiberglass. Clever local men were brought in to devise a ramp at the rear of the mill to allow a small crane to lift each sail into place. The main shaft and supporting base for the sails are made of steel weighing 1.8 tons. All this is secured to concrete beams using metal plates and bolts. Finally, gutters were fitted to facilitate water collection for the 15,000-gallon cistern.
While picturesque, mills in the Caribbean have a dark history. As European settlers entered the Caribbean from the 18th to the 20th centuries, sugar plantations became a major part of the economy. Molasses and rum production were accomplished with forced labor of the indigenous populations until they were decimated by the influx of old-world diseases. Enslaved Africans were brought to the West Indies to operate the mills that refine the sugar crop.
Harry’s mill can be found in Lower Hell’s Gate, surrounded by lush bromeliad and orchid beds. The property is situated on Sulfur Mine Road, with views to Green Island and the remains of the old sulfur mine. Harry and Audrey still live nearby.
