The Broad Eye Windmill is an historic

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

in the county town of Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The windmill is currently home to Windmill Broadcasting, and is looked after by the Friends of Broad Eye Windmill. It operated as a mill for 100 years, with the sails being removed in 1897. Over the next 100 or so years, numerous businesses operated from the Broad Eye Windmill, including a butchers. The patron of the Broad Eye Windmill is actor, TV presenter and historian

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentarie ...

History

18th century

Despite the town having three

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s, not enough flour could be produced to feed the poor of Stafford, as large amounts were being shipped to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

via the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, built in 1772 at Radford Bank. Furthermore, high prices were being charged by the water mills, as a result of the corn laws which allowed farmers and millers to charge high prices for grain and flour. This meant local people went hungry, and, to get around this problem, work started on the Broad Eye Windmill in 1796, which was completed in the early 1800s. Allotment land was made available at Broad Eye for the project, which is one of the lowest lying areas of Stafford Borough, sited next to the

River Sow The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford. Course The river rises to the south of Loggerheads, near Broughton and flows south-east beside the villages of Fairoak ...

. Using stone from the early Shire Hall, in its day, at a height of sixty three feet, the windmill was the highest in the Midlands and originally had a conical cap and seven floors, of which only the upper four floors were used for flour production.

19th century

In 1835, to keep up with demand, a steam engine was placed in the lower floors to keep up production when the wind wasn't blowing. However, this only partly rectified the situation, as when the mainline railway arrived in 1837, flour production could not keep up with local demand - Stafford was growing so quickly, and with new rail links, it was possible to bring in cheap flour, which meant the mill could not compete. Furthermore, due to the demand for finer,

white flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures ...

which could not be produced at the Broad Eye Windmill, by 1896, the mill reached the end of its life in its intended form, and in the following year, in 1897, the

sails A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

and winding gear were removed.

20th century

In 1919, the lower part of the windmill was converted into a shop, and, from the early 1920s until 1931, it was trading as a butcher’s shop. Photographs of the windmill's time as a shop still remain. American troops used the mill as a wartime store place but it later fell derelict, before being declared a Grade II listed building in 1951.

Present day

In 1966, the Friends of Broad Eye Windmill was created to look after the mill with the idea of returning it to its former glory, whilst establishing a heritage and education centre within. They aim to renew damaged oak support beams,

Joist A joist is a horizontal structural member used in framing to span an open space, often between beams that subsequently transfer loads to vertical members. When incorporated into a floor framing system, joists serve to provide stiffness to the su ...

s and floorboards so the next storey can be used as a museum and

heritage centre A heritage centre, center, or museum is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and often ...

. Inside the windmill lie artifacts and photographs relating to the Windmill and Stafford's industrial past. Currently, only the ground floor and basement are accessible. The Friends of Broad Eye Windmill frequently hold open days throughout the summer, to give people an idea of what the Mill's interior is like, and to raise awareness of the renovation of the windmill. Donations towards the Windmill are always being collected, which goes towards the renovation and preservation of the Broad Eye Windmill.

Windmill Broadcasting

{{main, Windmill Broadcasting In 2016, Windmill Broadcasting, a local

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...

station, started broadcasting from the Broad Eye Windmill. As well as being based in the Mill, the station works with the windmill members to assist with fundraising and renovation, and to help promote the windmill.

References

External links

Broad Eye WindmillBroad Eye Windmill on FacebookBroad Eye Windmill Twitter pageWindmill Broadcasting websiteWindmill Broadcasting on FacebookVisit Stafford page on the Broad Eye Windmill
Windmills in Staffordshire Buildings and structures in Stafford Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire