The Wilton Windmill is a five-floor brick tower

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

, standing on a chalk ridge between the villages of Wilton and

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

in the southern English county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

History

The mill was built in 1821 because the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal had included the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

isation of the River Bedwyn which had previously powered several water mills in the area. The windmill was in use for a century, continuing into the 1920s, but fell into disuse, probably as the result of competition from large steam roller mills. In the 1960s it was added to the list of buildings of architectural or historical merit as Grade II*. In 1971 it was bought by

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

and leased to the

Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust The Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust (founded in 1967, sometimes abbreviated WHBT) is a charitable organisation which works to preserve the architectural heritage of Wiltshire, in the West of England. History The Trust was formed in 1967, its ...

, which early in 1972 began to restore it to working condition.Anna Stowe, 'A brief history of Wilton Windmill' in ''Wiltshire Life'' magazine dated May 2011 By the end of the summer of 1976 the windmill was once again making flour. It is now owned by

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

and managed by the Wilton Windmill Society, formed in 1976 and operated entirely by volunteers. In the 1980s the mill was in financial difficulties, which led to the Society forming a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

XI, the Wilton Millers' Cricket Team, to raise funds by playing sponsored matches, and in 2011 this was still in existence, although no longer needed for fundraising. Flour, made from locally grown wheat, is still produced at the mill and can be bought on site and in local shops.

Sails

As when it was first constructed, the mill has a

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...

, which causes the cap bearing the sails to turn to make best use of the available wind. Of the four sails, two are of canvas and two are more complicated "patent sails", each consisting of twenty-two sections which can be angled.

Location

Position: Nearby towns and cities:

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, Newbury, Swindon Nearby villages: Wilton, East Grafton,

, Burbage,

Shalbourne Shalbourne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about southwest of Hungerford, Berkshire. The parish has a number of widely spaced small settlements including Bagshot and Stype, to the north, and Rivar and Oxenwood t ...

Pewsey Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Re ...

Nearby places of interest:

Crofton Pumping Station Crofton Pumping Station, near the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England, supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The steam-powered pumping station is preserved and operates on selected weekends. It contains ...

, Kennet and Avon Canal,

Wilton Water Wilton Water (or Wide Waters) is a small reservoir, southwest of the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The reservoir lies in the parish of Grafton ...

Pewsey White Horse Pewsey White Horse is a hill figure of a white horse near the village of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Cut of chalk in 1937, it replaces an earlier horse that had disappeared under the grass and is one of eight remaining white horses in Wiltshire ...

Culture and media

Wilton Windmill featured in an episode of '' Victorian Farm Christmas'', first aired on BBC Two on 11 December 2009. It also appeared in the short film ''Jerusalem'' starring pop group

The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...

, filmed in 1986 for a direct to video release in 1987; in the film the band performs the song ''Heaven's Above'' at the windmill.

References

External links