Chesterton Windmill Chesterton · Warwickshire · England

Chesterton Windmill was built in 1632–1633 for Sir Edward Peyto, lord of Chesterton Manor. Its stone tower stands on a shallow raised platform and is carried on six semicircular arches, giving the mill its unusual open lower stage. The building was associated with the Chesterton estate and was constructed as a corn mill rather than as a later converted structure. Its upper working floors housed two pairs of millstones, gearing, a brake wheel, wallower, sack-hoist arrangements and a cast-iron windshaft. The cap could be turned into the wind by an internal hand-winch arrangement.

The mill was altered during its working life. A major reconstruction took place in 1776, and further alteration to the curb and cap framing followed in 1860. By about 1910 regular milling had ceased after the winding gear could no longer bring the cap round to face the wind. The structure survived as a prominent landmark, and repair work to the sails and wind vane took place in the twentieth century. A major restoration by Warwickshire County Council and partners was carried out from the mid-1960s into the early 1970s, with repair and reconstruction of the machinery. The windmill was later maintained as a historic monument. One sail fell during an open day in 2006, after which the sails were removed for strengthening and later reinstated. Four new sails were installed in 2025. The windmill remains protected as both a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.