An antique winnower has been installed as part of the display in the Granary. Originally from France, this machine came from an antiques arcade in Staffordshire. Similar machines were made in this country and many more in the USA.
A winnower is a machine that separates the grain seed from the husk. When the handle is turned a wooden fan rotates via a simple gearing system. At the same time two sieves are shaken although some of the mesh material is currently missing. The husk or chaff is blown away by the fan leaving the grain to fall through the sieves to be collected. With the addition of some more mesh material it should be possible get it working.
Machines like this were produced in large numbers during the early days of mechanisation.