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Post corn mill recorded
Syston Mill is recorded as a post mill used for corn milling.
Site overview
Syston Mill was a post corn mill at Syston in Leicestershire. Specialist mill records identify it as a post mill and corn mill, but the site is now recorded as site-only, with probably no remains visible. Historic image material preserves the appearance of a wood-framed windmill at Syston, showing timber support structure at the base.
The mill belongs to the once numerous group of Leicestershire post mills, most of which have disappeared; only one wooden post mill survives in the county today at Kibworth Harcourt. Syston Mill is therefore best understood as a lost or near-lost windmill site rather than a standing mill, with its significance resting in its documented identity and photographic 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
Syston Mill was a post corn mill in Leicestershire. As a post mill, its timber body would have turned on a central post so that the sails could be faced into the wind. Historic image material records a wood-framed windmill at Syston with logs forming supports at the base, preserving a view of the structure before its disappearance.
The mill is recorded in specialist mill sources as a post mill used for corn milling. The site is now classed as site-only, with probably no surviving remains visible. This places Syston Mill among the many lost wooden post mills of Leicestershire. Local windmill history notes that only one of the county’s wooden post mills survives today, at Kibworth Harcourt, underlining how uncommon standing examples of this once widespread mill type have become.
The known record of Syston Mill is strongest for its identity, type, function, and lost survival. Its importance lies in its representation of the former post-mill landscape around Syston and the Wreake valley, rather than in surviving built fabric. The site remains part of the documented wind-powered corn-milling history of Leicestershire, supported by historic imagery and specialist mill catalogues.
Timeline
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Wood-framed windmill photographed
Historic image material shows the wood-framed windmill at Syston, with log supports visible at the base.
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Post mill lost
The site is now recorded as site-only, with probably no visible remains of the post mill.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive record
Image Leicestershire record for Syston Windmill
List of windmills in Leicestershire
Vanishing Windmills of Leicestershire
Mills Archive record
Image Leicestershire record for Syston Windmill
List of windmills in Leicestershire
Vanishing Windmills of Leicestershire