Conservation and restoration work at three windmills has been finished ahead of the winter. Heage Windmill in Derbyshire, Meopham Windmill in Kent, and the White Mill, also in Kent, have been undergoing programnmes of conservation and restoration work for several years.
Heage Windmill was restored in 2002, but the Grade II* listed building required further work due to weather-related erosion to the exterior stonework and increased damp inside the building. Following consultation with Historic England, the Heage Windmill Society secured £30,000 in funding from the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) and the Headley Trust for the works to go ahead. Work on the sails and caps was carried out in 2023, and now repair work on the stone tower has been completed.
Grade II* listed Meopham Windmill, which was built around 1820, had fallen into disrepair. Kent County Council purchased the mill, known for its rare six-sided design, in 1959. A £300,000 restoration programme has seen it reconstructed with new mechanisms, revitalised grounds, and its sweeps restored. The funding for the restoration came from a collaboration between KCC, Meopham Windmill Trust, Suffolk Millwrights, and the local community.
Finally, the Grade II listed White Mill in Sandwich, Kent, had its four sails restored and reinstated in September. The windmill was built in 1760 and served the community as a working mill until the 20th Century, before it became disused in 1957. The White Mill Rural Heritage Centre said the landmark was partly restored in the 1960s, but over the past five years it had undergone more extensive works, and that repairing the historic industrial machinery was a “major testament to the power of volunteering and the important role it plays in the community”.
Further details on these restoration projects can be found on these links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7841j4n2q3o.amp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8w0nw9kp9o.amp
Industrial Heritage Networks 