1806
Windmill Farm Mill recorded
Windmill Farm Mill at Upper Longdon was recorded as a tower corn mill by 1806.
Site overview
Windmill Farm Mill at Upper Longdon, also known as Brereton Cross Windmill or Upper Longdon Mill, was a tower corn mill. The coordinates match Upper Longdon rather than Armitage. The mill was built or recorded by 1806 and later ceased working before conversion to domestic use.
By the later twentieth century the tower had been house converted. In 2014 and 2015 earlier unsympathetic conversion work was removed and new works gave the mill a more authentic external appearance, including a new cap and fantail. The principal documented survival is therefore a converted tower mill rather than a working corn mill.
The detailed operating history, machinery inventory, and closure date have not been fully established.
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
Windmill Farm Mill at Upper Longdon was a wind-powered tower mill used for corn milling. It is also recorded as Brereton Cross Windmill and Upper Longdon Mill. The mill was in existence by 1806.
Its original working arrangement is not fully documented in the sources found, and details of the sails, millstones, internal gearing, and final commercial working date remain uncertain. The tower survived after the end of milling and was converted into a house. Photographic records from the 1960s and 1970s show the house-converted tower, including versions with a conical roof and later added extensions.
In 2014 and 2015 earlier conversion work was removed and new works were carried out to give the former mill a more authentic appearance. This included the assembly of a new cap, a new curb ring, and work associated with a fantail centre. The site is therefore a surviving converted tower mill with later reconstructed windmill features, retaining strong external legibility as a former wind-powered corn mill.
Timeline
1962
Converted tower photographed
The house-converted tower was photographed in the early 1960s.
2014–2015
Conversion appearance revised
Earlier conversion work was removed and new works gave the former mill a more authentic appearance, including a new cap and fantail.
Sources and records
Mills Archive database entry: Windmill Farm Mill, Upper Longdon
Windmill World entry: Upper Longdon windmill
Windmill photographic register
Wikimedia Commons file record: Upper Longdon Mill
Windmill World entry: Upper Longdon windmill
Windmill photographic register
Wikimedia Commons file record: Upper Longdon Mill