Shirley Windmill

Site overview

Shirley Windmill is a brick tower mill built in 1854 by Richard Alwen after an earlier timber post mill on the site was destroyed by fire. The five-storey mill worked as a corn mill and retained two pairs of millstones. It ceased working in about 1890 or 1892.

The mill was listed in 1951, acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1952, and restored in the early twenty-first century.

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

Shirley Windmill stands at Postmill Close in Croydon. An earlier post mill was built on the site in 1808 or 1809 and was worked by the Alwen family until it was destroyed by fire in October 1854. Richard Alwen then built the present brick tower mill.

The five-storey tower mill was built for corn milling and may include reused machinery from another mill, with a beam dated 1740 inside the structure. It was equipped with four patent sails on a cast-iron windshaft, a Kentish-style cap winded by a fantail, and two pairs of millstones. Richard Alwen died in 1884, and the mill later passed to Thomas Dives.

Working ended around 1890 or 1892, when the mill was no longer viable and was being used only for grinding animal feed. Lightning struck the mill in 1899 and again in April 1906, when a sail caught fire. The mill was restored in 1927, and further work followed after a sail was blown off in 1935.

It was listed in 1951 and acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1952. A Heritage Lottery Fund grant was announced in 1996 to turn the mill into a museum. External repairs and later restoration work culminated in a restored mill, with much original machinery still in place.

Timeline

1808–1809

Earlier post mill built

An earlier timber post mill was built on the site in 1808 or 1809.

1854

Post mill destroyed by fire

The earlier post mill was destroyed by fire in October 1854.

1854

Tower mill built

Richard Alwen built the present brick tower mill in 1854.

1884

Richard Alwen died

Richard Alwen died in 1884 and the mill later passed to Thomas Dives.

1890–1892

Working ended

The mill ceased working around 1890 or 1892.

1906

Lightning damaged sail

Lightning struck the mill in April 1906 and set a sail on fire.

1927

Mill restored

The mill was restored in 1927.

1951

Grade II listing

The windmill was listed in 1951.

1952

Public ownership began

The mill and land were acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1952.

1996

Museum grant announced

A Heritage Lottery Fund grant was announced in 1996 to turn the mill into a museum.

Shirley Windmill Shirley · London · England