Upper Dean Windmill

Site overview

Upper Dean Windmill is a disused red brick tower mill beside Shelton Road at Upper Dean. Historic England lists it at Grade II under the official name Upper Dean Windmill and records it as built in 1850 for William N. Bliss. Bedfordshire Archives notes earlier windmill evidence in Upper Dean, including a 1610 reference to a windmill in the Manor of Overdene and a windmill shown at the same place as the surviving mill on Thomas Jefferys' 1765 map.

The present tower replaced an earlier mill and last worked in 1906. The tower stands about 40 to 46 feet high, with the cap missing. It originally had three floors and worked two pairs of stones.

Historic England records fragments of two patent sails and some machinery surviving. The mill was later used as a shelter for cattle.

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

Upper Dean Windmill stands beside Shelton Road in the civil parish of Dean and Shelton. Bedfordshire Archives records a much longer history of wind-powered milling in the locality. A final concord of 1610 between William Towse, Thomas Trist, and Sir Thomas Dacres mentioned a windmill as part of the Manor of Overdene.

A windmill is also shown on Thomas Jefferys' 1765 map of Bedfordshire, standing in the same place as the surviving mill. The present mill was built about 1850 for William N. Bliss to replace an earlier one. It stands in a field known as Mill Field, and Bedfordshire Archives notes possible evidence for an earlier mill site on the opposite side of Shelton Road, in a field called Mill Close within the larger Mill Hill field.

Benjamin Bradshaw's tombstone in Dean churchyard records that he was born in 1811 at Upper Dean Mill, showing that an Upper Dean mill was active before the present tower was built. Historic England describes the listed structure as a red brick, disused tower mill built in 1850 for William N. Bliss. It is a tower mill type, with the cap missing, standing approximately 40 feet high.

Bedfordshire Archives gives the height as 46 feet and records a base diameter of 18 feet, with walls 18 inches thick. In 1931 J. Steele Elliott recorded that the mill still carried parts of two of its shutter sails and the semblance of a tail fan. The wooden brake-wheel was seven feet six inches across and the crown-wheel was of iron.

It had three upper floors and ran two pairs of stones. Names cut into the milling floor included W. Eaton, 1857, J. E. Mehew, and William Hall. Thomas Eaton was recorded there in 1869, and Charles Hall was miller until the mill ceased working in 1906.

Historic England records that fragments of two patent sails and some machinery survive, although the original floors had apparently collapsed by the time of listing. The mill later served only as a shelter for cattle. It was listed at Grade II on 12 August 1983.

Timeline

1610

Earlier windmill recorded

A final concord mentioned a windmill as part of the Manor of Overdene.

1765

Windmill shown on county map

A windmill was shown at the same place as the surviving mill on Thomas Jefferys' map of Bedfordshire.

1850

Present tower mill built

The present red brick tower mill was built about 1850 for William N. Bliss to replace an earlier mill.

1857

Miller name recorded inside mill

The name W. Eaton and the date 1857 were recorded on the milling floor.

1906

Working use ceased

Upper Dean Windmill stopped working in 1906, with Charles Hall recorded as miller until that date.

1931

Disused mill described

J. Steele Elliott described the disused mill as still carrying parts of two shutter sails and the semblance of a tail fan.

1983

Grade II listing

Upper Dean Windmill was listed at Grade II on the National Heritage List for England.

Upper Dean Windmill Upper Dean · Bedfordshire · England