The artistic work, whose historical background remains largely uncharted before its 1679 reconstruction, represents the sole surviving mill within the erstwhile fortified zone of Delft, among the eighteen that previously operated within the Dutch city.

On the current site of De Roos, at 111-112 Phoenixstraat, there originally stood a post mill called Gasthuismolen, which was destroyed during a storm in the second half of the 17th century.

On June 29, 1967, the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency designated the De Roos grain mill, along with the miller's house and warehouse surrounding its skirt, as a national monument.

[23][18] Additionally, situated along this same urban axis are an ancient fortification tower (the Bagijnetoren) and one of the buildings of the Delft municipal house [fr], which serves as the headquarters of the Delfland Water Board.

van der Voordt, the presence of the mill, which they describe as a "pleasant" and "landmark" structure situated in the heart of Delft's town center, imbues the Dutch city with a distinctive charm.

[8] The last remaining windmill in Delft, previously situated atop a bastion platform, is currently located above the Willem van Oranje tunnel on the railway line connecting the city to The Hague.

[39][40][41][42][43] The existence of this late medieval mill is substantiated by a fiscal act promulgated by the then Count of Holland, William V (Willem van Beieren), which details the transfer of the windmill to the inhabitants of Delft.

It is also referenced in July 1595 during the creation of a Delft square bearing its name and in 1601 in a document written by its miller, Gerrit Stevensz, which describes the destruction of a portion of the city wall near the mill.

[21][45] De Roos was initially constructed on the remains of a bastioned fortification (this section of the urban wall was destroyed during the 17th century[46]), situated on the current Zuiderstraat[21][47][48] — a thoroughfare in the southern part of the historic center of Delft.

[39][50] The location of the initial construction site is indicated on a map dated 1678 and engraved by the Dutch painter Johannes Verkolje and published by the writer Dirck van Bleyswijck.

[58] Additionally, the archaeological investigation revealed the presence of a canal, which constituted a defensive ditch following the current Dirklangenstraat and a loop urban road with two successive intersections with Phoenixstraat.

[1] Furthermore, due to the sails rotating at an insufficient height—which required a minimum elevation of at least eight feet (approximately two meters) above the ground—the municipal council determined that modifications to the mill were necessary to align with architectural standards.

[59][61][21][62] Intended to serve as a residence for the miller, this structure was complemented by the addition of a warehouse, also crafted from volcanic tuff blocks, which constituted the final element of the windmill complex.

[71] Following the demise of Klaas van Rhijn on December 14, 1925,[71] the Hollandsche Molen, an organization established in 1923 for the conservation of Dutch mills,[72][73][74] purchased De Roos in 1926.

[77][1][76][78] In 1929, the construction of railway line 1 led to ground subsidence, which was further exacerbated by the drainage of groundwater by the Royal Dutch Society for the Manufacture of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Products [nl].

[1][80][81][82][30][61][48][Note 8] In the context of the global food shortages that resulted from the Second World War, De Roos operated at full capacity during the 1940s to meet the demand for flour.

[71] In 1942, despite the financial constraints of World War II affecting the Hollandsche Molen, the association provided funding for the restoration of De Roos’s residential house, amounting to 7,000 guilders.

[1] Concurrently, in early 1961,[84] an 800-meter-long railway viaduct was erected to supplant the tramway line segment traversing the western portion of Delft's town center.

[90][91][92][16] In November 1975, the Delft mill was showcased in a television program designed for a youth audience, titled Het Programma met de Muis.

[93] The report, broadcast by the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, demonstrated the processes of flour production and mill operation through the actions of miller Niek de Vreede, accompanied by detailed explanations.

[1][40][105] In the spring of 1996, to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the city’s establishment by William II of Holland,[106] the mill's wings were embellished with four white sails featuring nuances of Delft blue.

The project's impact on the morphology and landscape of Delft's town center (including the mill) was a significant factor in the Minister of Transport and Water Management, Karla Peijs, approving the construction of a railway tunnel.

[113][109][111][110][1][10][13] The jacking operation, conducted with the assistance of computer-aided technology and subcontracted to the engineering company CT de Boer,[114][13] proceeded in incremental steps of 33 mm.

[117][1][109][110][21][118] Furthermore, the budget allocated by the province of South Holland for the work on the windmill building, specifically repairs of the masonry joints around the openings on the first floor of the skirt superstructure[119] and the installation of a new concrete slab, amounted to a cost of €76,000.

[119] This endeavor yielded insights into the original foundations of the mill and the remnants of the city's ancient fortifications, including a rampart, a bastion, a tower, and a moat.

[132] The third trench revealed the remains of a foundation, spanning a depth of 0.50 meters, belonging to a structure situated between De Roos and the Bagijntoren, one of the fortified towers of Delft's fortifications.

In addition to supplying local bakeries, the company began providing flour to individuals, restaurants, and DOEL, a subdivision of GGZ Delfland, a structure dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with psychiatric disorders.

[43][159] It is adorned with a green and white painted fronton featuring two chronograms—1679 and 1990—which respectively refer to the date of the reconstruction of De Roos on the Phoenixstraat site and its inauguration after restoration works in the 1980s.

[43][159][71] From the platform to the cap, the skirt has a circular shape, and its structure, of the composite type, consists of a double row of purple-red bricks joined with mortar 54 cm thick.

[43] To compensate for the inherent variability of wind energy, which represents the primary driving force behind the mill's operation,[21][177] De Roos is equipped with an electric motor[146][155] with a power output of 20 horsepower, designed by the firm Heemaf [fr].