Difference between revisions of "Quainton Windmill"

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Quainton Windmill
Buckinghamshire
Quainton Windmill
Type:	Windmill
Location
Grid reference:	SP74672022
Location:	51°52’32"N, 0°55’0"W
Village:	Quainton
History
	Built 1830-1832
For:	James Anstiss
	Windmill
Information
Owned by:	Anstiss Family

Quainton Windmill (also known as the Banner Mill) is a historic windmill standing impressively over the village of Quainton, in Buckinghamshire.^[1]

The mill was built 1830–32 by James Anstiss and is still owned by the Anstiss family. It is a six-storey brick-built tower mill seventy feet high, the tallest windmill in Buckinghamshire, making it the most prominent landmark of the village.^[2]

The windmill stood derelict for most of the 20th century. It has now been restored and set into working order: the local shop is stocked with flour ground from the mill.

The mill had a steam engine installed early in its working life. Until 1881, it was wind-driven, but milling came to an end in 1900. The building remained unused as a mill, without a cap or sails, until 1974, when the owner formed the 'Quainton Windmill Society',^[3] with the aim of restoring the windmill. The Society spent 23 years undertaking restoration work. In 1997, milling was re-established.

In 2013 the listing status of the mill was upgrade from Grade II to Grade II*^[4] for the following principal reasons:

• Architectural interest: the windmill reflects in its design and machinery the specific function it was intended to fulfil and how it was adapted to meet changes in technology and in the economy;
• Intactness: the original mill machinery and fittings are intact and in working order;
• Rarity: it is an example of a tall six-storey windmill and is the third tallest windmill in England. It was altered to be operated by an auxiliary steam engine which unusually was placed within the structure of the mill.

Cross Farmhouse and the windmill

An external survey was carried out on 2 October by Oxley Conservation and Bonwick Milling Heritage Consultancy. Using a giant “cherry- picker” enabling them to closely examine the structure of the mill and to provide a detailed report of its condition. The report states: ‘The extent of decay suffered is such that the head frame timbers have been significantly weakened and will be particularly vulnerable to failure in adverse weather conditions [high winds]; this risk is heightened by the sails and fantail which will exert tremendous forces on the timbers.’ With have agreement of English Heritage and the local council, the sails and the fantail were removed in December 2013 to reduce the stress on the timbers.

Visting

The mill is opened to visitors on Sundays between 10am and 12.30pm between March and October.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Quainton Windmill)

References

• Smith, A. C.: 'Windmills in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire' (Stevenage Museum Publications, 1976)