Site overview

Green's Windmill is a restored working tower mill at Sneinton, Nottingham. It was built shortly after 1807 by the baker George Green for milling wheat into flour. His son, the mathematical physicist George Green, inherited the mill in 1829.

The mill remained in use until the nineteenth century and was later damaged by fire in 1947. It was restored in the 1980s and reopened as a working windmill and public science centre in 1986. The site is now Green's Windmill and Science Centre, combining a restored flour mill with exhibitions on George Green and science learning.

The building is a listed five-stage brick tower mill with ogee cap, fantail, and sails.

Map & photo

Photograph taken: 21 April 2024
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.

History

Green's Windmill stands on Windmill Lane at Sneinton, Nottingham. The present tower mill was built shortly after 1807 by George Green, a Nottingham baker, on a site that already belonged to a wider group of mills in the area. It was built for milling wheat into flour and became one of the best-known surviving tower mills in Nottinghamshire.

In 1829 the elder George Green died, and the mill passed to his son George Green, later recognised as a mathematical physicist. The mill continued through later owners and millers after the Green family period. Its working life ended in the nineteenth century, and by the twentieth century it had become a historic survival rather than an active commercial mill. In 1947 the mill was damaged by fire. Restoration work in the 1980s returned the structure to working order, and it reopened in 1986.

The restored mill is now Green's Windmill and Science Centre. It is a working nineteenth-century tower mill, museum, and science learning centre. The listed building is a tapering round brick tower of five stages with an ogee wooden cap, finial, fantail, and four sails. The site presents both the milling history of Sneinton and the scientific legacy of George Green.

Timeline

1807–1810

Tower mill built

George Green built the present brick tower mill shortly after 1807 for milling wheat into flour.
1829

Mill inherited by George Green

The younger George Green inherited the mill after the death of his father.
1860–1869

Commercial working ended

The mill remained in use until the 1860s before its commercial milling life ended.
1947

Mill damaged by fire

The disused windmill was damaged by fire.
1986

Restored mill reopened

The restored mill reopened as a working windmill and science centre.

Sources and records

Green's Windmill and Science Centre official website
Historic England list entry: Green's Mill
Mills Archive catalogue entry: Green's mill: its history and working
Mills Archive catalogue entry: Green's Tower Mill, Nottingham
Green's Mill Collection, Archives Hub
Wikipedia article: Green's Mill, Sneinton