Gilmorton Old Windmill Gilmorton · Leicestershire · England

The Old Windmill at Gilmorton preserves a long milling history on the edge of the village. A windmill was first recorded on the site in 1601, when William Birdett left the mill to his son, also named William. By 1783 the mill had passed into the possession of the Wood family. The earliest mill was a post mill, the older form of windmill in which the whole timber body turned to face the wind.

In 1815 the earlier mill was rebuilt as a tower mill. By that date steam power had also been installed, showing that the site combined wind milling with auxiliary mechanical power during its nineteenth-century development. The rebuilt mill formed a substantial feature on Mill Lane, serving the agricultural settlement of Gilmorton and the surrounding south Leicestershire countryside.

The mill continued working into the early twentieth century. Its active life ended on 28 December 1915, when the structure was wrecked and the sails were torn down. After that event the mill was left unused and became increasingly derelict. It still had its cap in 1935, but the cap had gone by 1959, although the wooden ball finial remained on site.

The surviving tower was later brought back into use through domestic conversion. In about 1984 it was converted into a five-bedroom home, preserving the historic circular mill fabric as part of the dwelling. The millstones remain outside, giving a visible reminder of the building’s original corn-milling function. The present site is therefore a private converted windmill, with the tower and associated surviving features marking the continuity of the older mill site at Gilmorton.