Waltham Windmill Waltham · Lincolnshire · England

Wind-powered milling at Waltham is recorded from 1666, with several earlier mills occupying the site before the present structure. The current Waltham Windmill was built in 1878–80 by John Saunderson of Louth. It was constructed as a six-storeyed tower mill of light-coloured local brick, later tarred, with six double-sided patent sails and a traditional Lincolnshire ogee cap. Unlike some large Lincolnshire mills, it had no balcony. Its machinery included two pairs of French stones for flour and two pairs of Derbyshire Peak stones for coarser grinding such as animal feed.

The mill remained in working use through the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the First World War one sail was lost, and the opposite sail was removed to balance the mill. Timber shortages prevented immediate replacement, and during the 1920s the sails were reduced to single-sided form. During the Second World War the height and visibility of the mill made it useful as a Home Guard lookout post over the Humber.

Waltham Windmill was listed at Grade II* in 1952. It worked by wind until 1962 and then continued for a period using electric power, producing animal feed. In December 1966 the Waltham Windmill Preservation Society was formed and began the long task of restoring and maintaining the mill. A further low point came in 1978, when one of the remaining sails was damaged and the other three had to be removed for safety. Later restoration returned the mill to its six-sailed appearance and working heritage role.

The mill celebrated its 140th birthday in 2020 with a major facelift, but subsequent condition concerns led to its addition to the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register in October 2023. Historic England grant support helped fund a first phase of urgent conservation, including removal of the sails and cap for essential work. The cap and six sails were reinstated in March 2026, allowing the mill to move back toward stone-ground flour production. Waltham Windmill remains one of the few six-sailed working windmills in England and a defining landmark for the village.