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Windshaft and brake wheel survive
The windshaft and brake wheel of the post mill are recorded as surviving elements of the machinery.
Site overview
Six Mile Bottom Mill, also known as Bungalow Hill Mill, is a surviving post mill at Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire. It is recorded as a wind-powered corn mill and was moved from Westley Waterless to Six Mile Bottom in 1846. The mill later became derelict, but important machinery survived, including the windshaft, brake wheel, tail wheel, upright shaft, and related internal fittings.
Photographic records from the twentieth century show the mill in derelict condition with broken sails, and later images record the interior machinery and surviving structural frame. The site has since been conserved, although its surroundings were altered by later development nearby.
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
Six Mile Bottom Mill is a post corn mill at Bungalow Hill, Six Mile Bottom. It is also recorded as Bungalow Hill Mill and as Six Mile Bottom Mill, Burrough Green. The mill’s earlier history is linked to Westley Waterless, where a post mill was recorded before being moved to Six Mile Bottom in 1846. This relocation created the surviving mill at its present site.
The mill later ceased working and entered a long derelict phase. Photographic records show it in deteriorating condition, including views with broken sails and later detailed records of its machinery. The surviving fabric included the windshaft and brake wheel, together with the tail wheel, upright shaft, and other internal fittings. These details make the mill an important survival because the post-mill body and machinery record more than simply the external form of the structure.
By the late twentieth century the mill was still standing, though derelict, and later records describe it as conserved. The area around the mill was substantially changed by the construction of a new house alongside it in 2005, but the conserved mill remains a visible survival of the wind-powered corn-milling landscape of Six Mile Bottom.
Timeline
1810
Westley Waterless mill recorded
A post mill at Westley Waterless is recorded before its later move to Six Mile Bottom.
1846
Post mill moved to Six Mile Bottom
The post mill was moved from Westley Waterless to Six Mile Bottom in 1846.
1958
Derelict mill photographed
The post mill was photographed in derelict condition in August 1958.
1976
Machinery and frame recorded
Photographs from June 1976 recorded the mill, including the cross-trees, quarter-bars, collar, and internal machinery.
2005
Surroundings altered
The setting of the conserved mill was substantially changed by the construction of a new house alongside it.
Sources and records
Windmill World site entry
Mills Archive image records
Archives Hub Mills Archive records
English Windmills Photographic Register
List of windmills in Cambridgeshire
Mills Archive image records
Archives Hub Mills Archive records
English Windmills Photographic Register
List of windmills in Cambridgeshire