Bursledon Windmill is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

windmill in

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages i ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England which has been restored to working order.

Description

Bursledon mill is a five-storey tower mill with a reefing stage at first floor level. The boat shaped cap is winded by a chain and wheel. The four ''Common sails'' are carried on a wooden ''windshaft'', which also carries the wooden ''brake wheel''. This drives the wooden ''wallower'', located at the top of the wooden ''upright shaft''. The wooden ''great spur wheel'' at the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' drives three pairs of ''underdrift millstones''.

Commercial history

Bursledon Windmill was built in 1814 by a Mrs Phoebe Langtry, replacing an earlier post mill which was built about 1768. The machinery of the earlier mill was incorporated into the new mill. In 1814, the mill was mortgaged for £800 for six years. The mill was sold by the mortgagees in 1820. The mill was working until the 1880s initially by Mrs Langtry's son, Wiliam Langtry. John Cove and his family worked this mill between 1847 and 1871. The UK census shows he had worked a mill in Portsmouth and originally came from Wiltshire. He and his wife Susannah Emmett both came from Wiltshire and are responsible for the nearly all the Cove family in Southampton. His daughter Mary married a Jarvis and ran the Jolly Sailor public house in

Hamble Hamble may refer to: * The River Hamble in Hampshire, England * Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble. ** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble * Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...

, one of his other daughters ran a market garden at the end of Windmill Lane and his son John Cove became a farm labourer. The last miller was George Gosling who bought the mill in 1872.

Decline of the windmill

When the mill ceased working, a flat roof was placed on the cap frame, which preserved the machinery in the mill. In 1931, the runner stones were removed. The mill was derelict by 1978, the top two floors being in very poor condition by then. Some essential repairs were carried out in that year by the County Council.

Restoration of the windmill

Between 1978 and 1991, the mill was restored by the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust. The sails were replaced in 1990 and the mill opened to the public in May 1991.

Ongoing maintenance of the windmill

In February 2012, the start of a major restoration to the windmill began. The first stage saw the removal of the wooden lattices that make up the sails. This work was in preparation for the replacement of the windshaft which had reached the end of its natural life. The work was completed in November 2014. In 2014 ownership of the Bursledon Windmill was transferred to the

Hampshire Cultural Trust Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...

as part of a larger transfer of museums from

Hampshire County Council Hampshire County Council (HCC) is an English council that governs eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. As one of twenty-four county councils in England, it acts as the upper tier of ...

and

Winchester City Council The City of Winchester () is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with a city status. The district covers the ancient settlement of the city of Winchester itself, but also covers a large area of central Hampshire including Bis ...

Millers

*William Langtry 1787–1813 (post mill) *William Langtry 1814–1820 (son of the above) *John Cove 1847–1871 *George Gosling 1872–1907

Public access

Bursledon Windmill is open to the public from 11:00 to 16:00 on Sundays. It is also open by appointment on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

References

External links

Bursledon Windmill
- Hampshire County Council

webpage on Bursledon Mill.

{{Windmills in England Windmills completed in 1814 Grade II* listed buildings in Hampshire Grade II* listed windmills Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Tower mills in the United Kingdom Museums in Hampshire Windmills in Hampshire Mill museums in England