1800–1830
Tower mill built
Broadfield windmill was built as a tower corn mill in the early nineteenth century.
Site overview
Broadfield windmill at Felton was a corn tower mill on Broadfield Down, north of the Mendips. The tower stood in an exposed position above the 600-foot contour and was built in the early nineteenth century. It worked as a windmill until the 1880s, after which the mill was converted for domestic use.
The conversion added a kitchen and a conical tiled roof, leaving the short, thick tower as the core of a dwelling. The building is now known as Windmill House and is a Grade II listed former windmill. The listed structure is described as circular on plan, of three storeys, built of random rubble with some render and a pyramidal plain tile roof.
The interior retains a circular staircase. The present site therefore survives primarily as a converted windmill tower rather than as an operational or restored milling structure.
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
Broadfield windmill stood on Broadfield Down at Felton, one of the comparatively few windmill sites north of the Mendips. Its position above the 600-foot contour gave it the exposed setting needed for wind-powered corn milling. The tower was built in the early nineteenth century and was a short, thick masonry tower, later recorded at about 20 feet in height.
It operated as a corn mill until the 1880s. After milling ended, the tower was converted into a dwelling. The domestic conversion added a kitchen and replaced the working windmill superstructure with a conical tiled roof.
Later listing records identify the building as Windmill House, also indicated as The Round House, and describe it as a former windmill converted to a cottage. The structure is circular on plan and of three storeys, built from random rubble with some render. Its external details include nineteenth-century sash and fixed windows, while the interior contains a circular staircase.
The building was first listed at Grade II on 19 January 1987. The surviving site is therefore the adapted tower of a former corn mill, preserved through domestic reuse rather than through retention of machinery or sails.
Timeline
1800–1889
Corn milling use
The tower worked as a wind-powered corn mill before being converted after milling ceased.
1880–1889
Milling ended
The mill stopped working in the 1880s before conversion to domestic use.
1880–1889
Converted to dwelling
The former mill tower was converted into a dwelling with the addition of a kitchen and conical tiled roof.
1987
Grade II listing
Windmill House was first listed at Grade II.
Sources and records
Windmill World entry: Broadfield windmill, Felton
Historic England list entry: Windmill House, Wrington
Bristol Industrial Archaeology Society Journal Vol. 6: Windmills of Somerset
Historic England list entry: Windmill House, Wrington
Bristol Industrial Archaeology Society Journal Vol. 6: Windmills of Somerset