—
Corn milling use
The post mill functioned as a corn mill.
Site overview
Woodhouse Eaves Mill was a Midlands post corn mill built in 1863 at Woodhouse Eaves. It became one of the best-known windmills in the area and remained a popular landmark after it had fallen out of use. The wooden post mill was destroyed by fire in 1945, ending the survival of the mill body.
Its stone roundhouse remained and was later adapted with an unusual roof extension that indicates the size of the lost buck and forms a viewing platform. The present site therefore preserves the base and footprint of a former post mill rather than the complete windmill. The surviving roundhouse marks a distinctive remnant of Leicestershire’s once wider post-mill tradition.
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
Woodhouse Eaves Mill was a Midlands post mill built in 1863 for corn milling. It stood above Woodhouse Eaves and became a well-known local landmark. As a post mill, the timber mill body turned above a roundhouse, allowing the sails to face the wind while the base provided storage and shelter around the trestle.
The mill remained prominent after its working life had ended. Local windmill history describes it as the most famous windmill in the area and notes that it continued as a popular tourist destination long after it had fallen out of use. The main wooden mill body was destroyed by fire in 1945, leaving the stone roundhouse as the principal surviving fabric.
The survival of the roundhouse gives the site its present character. Later adaptation added an unusual roof extension showing the approximate size of the lost buck, and the structure was turned into a viewing platform with wide views over the surrounding landscape. The site is therefore not a complete restored windmill, but it is a clear and distinctive survival of a Midlands post mill base.
Woodhouse Eaves Mill now represents both the loss and partial preservation of Leicestershire’s wooden post-mill heritage. Its surviving stone base, adapted viewing platform, and hilltop setting retain the memory of the former corn mill and its landmark role above the village.
Timeline
—
Landmark after working life
The windmill remained a popular local landmark and tourist destination after it had fallen out of use.
—
Roundhouse adapted as viewing platform
The surviving stone roundhouse was adapted with a roof extension indicating the size of the lost buck and forming a viewing platform.
1863
Post mill built
Woodhouse Eaves Mill was built in 1863 as a Midlands post mill.
1945
Mill body destroyed by fire
The wooden post mill was destroyed by fire in 1945.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive record
List of windmills in Leicestershire
The Lost Windmills of Leicestershire
Colin Crosby Heritage Tours article
Mills Archive record
List of windmills in Leicestershire
The Lost Windmills of Leicestershire
Colin Crosby Heritage Tours article