Waltham Windmill, the last to be built in Lincolnshire, is undergoing a major restoration to preserve its place on the county’s skyline.
Built between 1878 and 1880 from 250,000 local bricks, the six-storey mill has long been a symbol of Waltham. It served as a Home Guard lookout during the Second World War and remains one of the few mills in the country still able to grind flour.
Michael Date of the Waltham Windmill Preservation Society described it as “an iconic building on the landscape of Northern Lincolnshire” and “a relic of a bygone age which should be saved for generations to come.”
The £160,000 restoration is being completed in two phases with support from Historic England, which placed the mill on its buildings at risk register. Grants have funded repairs to the cap, sails and fly frame, with further work now under way to secure its long-term future.
For Date, the details of the cap remain a personal fascination. “The workings of the fantail to move the cap and sails around the curb rail to keep the sails into the wind, and the linkages that connect the sails to drive the millstones,” he said, are features most visitors overlook.
Local legend also surrounds the site. During the war, the Air Ministry is said to have considered demolishing it, fearing it might guide enemy bombers. The miller resisted, reportedly declaring it would happen “over my dead body.” Instead, the mill survived and was turned into a lookout post.
Looking ahead, plans include new visitor facilities, expanded museum displays and even an on-site bakery. “The mill continues to be a place to visit within the county: a centre for a variety of events to cater for a variety of interests,” Date said.
Image credit: Waltham Windmill Society
