The mill’s sails are reattached following refurbishment

One of the city’s most distinctive landmarks will be open for business again on selected days this summer.

Bradwell Windmill, which featured on the first set of postcards and adverts for life in the new city, will be opening this summer to the public on the last Sunday of each month. And as well as seeing the results of a £160,000 MK Council-funded refurbishment, people should also be able to see the mill in action.

Visiting

Opening times for your diary are the last Sunday of the month, March to October, 1.30pm to 4.30pm:

• March 29th;
• April 26th;
• May 31st;
• June 28th;
• July 26th;
• August 30th;
• September 27th;
• October 25th.

In addition, the mill will be open on the Bank Holiday of Monday May 4th when the sports club next door to the mill has its fete.

The postcode that gets people to the mill is MK13 7UE; parking in Nightingale Crescent, off Wheelers Lane.

There is no access to mill from Mill Lane (off Bradwell Road). Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

History of Bradwell Windmill

Milton Keynes is an important site for windmills, having been home to the first mill ever excavated in Europe, found at Great Linford and thought to date from 1220.

Bradwell Windmill is thought to be the second windmill built in Bradwell village, replacing an earlier post mill on the site of Summerfield School, which sat on a post in order that the whole structure could be turned so the sails caught the wind.

The mill we now see just off the V6 Grafton St was erected around 1805 and just about made a living for the families that owned it, milling grain for local farmers. However, it was less reliable than the area’s water mills, for example along the Ouse at Old Wolverton, and by the 20^th century it was derelict. The Council acquired it for just £80.

Restoration

Its return to health for the first time in 139 years has been achieved through a partnership between the building’s stewards, Milton Keynes Museum, and Milton Keynes Council, who funded the work of millwrights Owlsworth IJP.

The restoration involved making the building watertight and restoring the sails and milling mechanism, so visitors can expect to see the historic millstones in action.

Like the Museum itself, Bradwell Windmill is maintained and operated by volunteers.