Ashby's Mill, often referred to as Brixton Windmill, is a restored

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

. The mill was in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

when built and has been preserved.

History

Ashby's Mill was built in 1816 and worked by wind until 1862, when the business was transferred to a

watermill 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 mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

on the

River Wandle The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...

. 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 b ...

were removed in 1864 and the windmill was relegated to use as a store. In 1902, the lease on the watermill expired and a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

was installed in the windmill. This was later replaced by a

gas engine A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a fuel gas (a gaseous fuel), such as coal gas, producer gas, biogas, landfill gas, natural gas or hydrogen. In the United Kingdom and British English-speaking countries, the term is ...

. The windmill was worked by engine until 1934, and supplied wholemeal flour to West End hotels and restaurants. After the war, there were proposals to demolish the mill and build a block of flats. The proposal was rejected and it was decided to conserve the mill, which was restored in 1964 by

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. New sails were fitted, and machinery from a derelict windmill at

Burgh le Marsh Burgh le Marsh is a town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map: Skegness, Alford & Spilsby: (1:25 000): Geography The town is built on a low hill surrounded by former marsh land, and the marsh ...

, Lincolnshire installed to replace that which had been removed. The work was done by Thompson's, the Alford

millwright A millwright is a craftsman or skilled tradesman who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mechanic'') ...

s. Following restoration, the mill was opened to the public at Easter 1968. The mill passed to Lambeth Council in 1971 and remains in their ownership. Further restoration was carried out in 1978 and 1983, but the windmill had been placed on the Buildings at Risk Register in 1995. The Friends of Windmill Gardens had been formed in April 2003 with the aim of restoring the windmill and surrounding area as a public amenity. In September 2004, an archaeological dig was organised, with assistance from the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

Archaeology Service. A £25,000 grant was given by Lambeth Borough Council towards repairs to the mill and gardens. A £2,000,000 restoration plan has been put together with assistance from the

Horniman Museum The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a museum in Forest Hill, London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Modern Style. It has displays of anthropology, natural history and music ...

and the

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) (also known as Anti-Scrape) is an amenity society founded by William Morris, Philip Webb, and others in 1877 to oppose the Victorian restoration, destructive 'restoration' of ancient bu ...

. An application for a grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

was submitted. The Heritage Lottery Fund granted £397,700 towards the restoration.

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council, which styles itself Lambeth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of the 32 in London. The council has been under Labour ...

and the Friends of Windmill Gardens also contributed towards the restoration of the mill, which cost £581,000. The restored mill was officially opened to the public on 2 May 2011 by

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabine ...

, MP for

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

Description

''Ashby's Mill'' is a four-storey brick tower mill with a boat shaped cap. It had two Patent sails and two Common sails. The cap was winded by a hand wheel, no

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 "f ...

being fitted. The cast iron windshaft is the only remaining original piece of machinery. The mill is diameter at the base and to the curb, and high overall.

Millers

*John Ashby 1816 - 1845 *Joshua Ashby 1860s - 1934

References

External links

Brixton Windmill
- official site of Ashby's Mill
SPAB
- SPAB Mills section

webpage on Ashby's mill. {{Authority control 1816 establishments in England Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Lambeth History of the London Borough of Lambeth Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Tower mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1816 Windmills in London Towers completed in 1816