1750–1799
Late eighteenth-century meal mill built
Whithorn Windmill was built as a tower meal mill in the late eighteenth century.
Site overview
Whithorn Windmill stands at the top of High Street in Whithorn, east of the road junction. It was a late eighteenth-century tower meal mill and is known from an 1825 view showing the windmill complete with sails. The surviving stump is of sandstone, rubble and brick.
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
Whithorn Windmill is a former tower meal mill at Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. The mill stood at the top of High Street, east of the road junction, and certainly dates from the late eighteenth century. A watercolour view of Whithorn in 1825 showed the windmill complete with sails.
The surviving stump stands about 22 feet high and is built of sandstone, rubble and brick. An iron railing runs around the top, and the remains of a stone stair survive in the west arc from ground to first-floor level. The tower was probably surmounted by a wooden superstructure carrying the windcap and sails.
The structure later became dilapidated and was known locally as the Stump. No complete ownership sequence, machinery inventory, or precise final working date has been established.
Timeline
1825
Windmill shown complete with sails
An 1825 view of Whithorn showed the windmill complete with sails.
Sources and records
Scottish Windmills: An Outline and Inventory; Historic Ordnance Survey mapping; local heritage record