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Ruined tower survives
The round rubble-stone tower survives to more than one storey with arched doorways, small openings, and internal recesses.
Site overview
Ruined Windmill Tower stands in a field behind the primary school in Church Street, Wick. Wick lies at a high altitude close to the coast, making it well suited to windmills. The windmill may be the one shown on Emmanuel Bowen's map of 1729, and it is marked on the two-inch Ordnance Survey map of 1813 and on the 1840 tithe map.
It has been in its present condition since at least 1890. The tower stands to more than one storey and is built of rubble stone on a round plan. It retains opposed ground-floor doorways with segmental arched heads, another tall arched opening, small openings, and internal recesses probably related to former machinery.
It was listed at Grade II in 1998 as a rare windmill tower survival.
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
Ruined Windmill Tower stands in a field behind the primary school in Church Street, Wick. The village occupies high ground close to the coast, a setting well suited to wind-powered milling and historically capable of supporting more than one windmill.
The surviving tower may be the windmill shown on Emmanuel Bowen's map of 1729. It is marked on the two-inch Ordnance Survey map of 1813 and on the 1840 tithe map. The tower has been in its present ruined condition since at least 1890, giving it a long-documented post-working history as a surviving windmill remnant.
The structure stands to more than one storey. It is round in plan and built of rubble stone. Opposed ground-floor door openings survive to the north and south under segmental arched heads. A further tall opening, offset to the north-west at a slightly higher level, also has a segmental arched head with voussoirs. Three small openings survive on the east side, and a small ground-level opening with a stone lintel survives on the west. Internally no fittings are preserved, but recesses in the internal walls may relate to the former machinery.
The tower was listed at Grade II on 27 November 1998. Its special interest lies in its rare survival and considerable antiquity as a windmill tower in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Timeline
1729
Possible Bowen map windmill
The windmill may be the one shown on Emmanuel Bowen's map of 1729.
1813
Windmill mapped
The windmill was marked on the two-inch Ordnance Survey map of 1813.
1840
Windmill shown on tithe map
The windmill was marked on the 1840 tithe map.
1890
Ruined condition established
The tower has been in its present ruined condition since at least 1890.
1998
Listed building designation
Ruined Windmill Tower was designated as a Grade II listed building.
Sources and records
Cadw listed building record
British Listed Buildings entry
Vale of Glamorgan listed buildings map
Welsh Mills Society listed windmills gazetteer
GGAT Windmills in Gwent and Glamorgan project report
British Listed Buildings entry
Vale of Glamorgan listed buildings map
Welsh Mills Society listed windmills gazetteer
GGAT Windmills in Gwent and Glamorgan project report