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Listed building designation
Subscription Mill is listed at Grade II.
Site overview
Subscription Mill is a Grade II listed tower mill at Sturton by Stow. The listed structure is a four-storey tarred red-brick tower mill with decorated eaves, a doorway with segmental head, sliding sash windows, internal staircase and floors intact, and a fibreglass copy of the original white-painted wooden cap. Local mill records describe it as a subscription mill owned by local shareholders.
It worked with four sails and later supplementary oil-engine power, and milling continued into the early 1950s. The sails were lost in 1954, the mill was gutted in the late 1950s, and surviving wind machinery was reused in the restoration of Ellis's Mill in Lincoln.
Map
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Subscription Mill stands at Sturton by Stow and is protected as a Grade II listed tower mill. The listed description dates the tower to 1801, while other mill records place its construction in 1815 as a subscription mill owned by forty local shareholders. It was a four-storey tower corn mill, built of tarred red brick with decorated eaves.
The mill worked with four sails and had one pair of grey stones and two pairs of French burr stones. It later used supplementary oil-engine power and remained in use until the early 1950s. The sails were lost in 1954 and the mill was gutted in the late 1950s, although the cap remained in place until 1978.
In that year the windshaft and brake wheel were removed for use in the restoration of Ellis's Mill in Lincoln, and a fibreglass replica cap was fitted in exchange. The surviving tower retains its external form, floors, internal staircase, and replica cap, while its former machinery continues to form part of another restored Lincolnshire mill.
Timeline
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Wind and oil-engine operation
The mill worked with four sails and supplementary oil-engine power until 1954.
1801
Tower mill constructed
The listed tower mill is dated to 1801 and built of tarred red brick with decorated eaves.
1815
Subscription mill built
Mill records describe the mill as built in 1815 as a subscription mill owned by local shareholders.
1950–1959
Mill gutted
The mill was gutted in the late 1950s after the end of working use.
1954
Sails lost
The mill lost its sails in 1954, ending its wind-powered working life.
1978
Machinery reused at Ellis's Mill
The windshaft and brake wheel were removed for use in the restoration of Ellis's Mill, Lincoln, and a fibreglass replica cap was fitted.
Sources and records
Historic England listed building entry: Subscription Mill, Sturton by Stow
Historic England Research Records via Heritage Gateway
Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology catalogue entry: Sturton by Stow, Union Mill
Mills Archive site record: Subscription Mill, Sturton by Stow
Windmill World site entry: Sturton by Stow windmill
West Lindsey locally important heritage assets document
Historic England Research Records via Heritage Gateway
Society for Lincolnshire History and Archaeology catalogue entry: Sturton by Stow, Union Mill
Mills Archive site record: Subscription Mill, Sturton by Stow
Windmill World site entry: Sturton by Stow windmill
West Lindsey locally important heritage assets document