Creeting St Mary Windmill is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...

at Creeting St Mary,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England which has been restored. It was originally the body of a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single central vertical post. The vertical post is supported by four quarter bars. These ar ...

which stood elsewhere in the village.

History

Creeting St Mary windmill was built in 1796 at . The mill was dismantled c1860, and the body was moved to the grounds of the medieval hall known as Houghton Park Farm, no
The Old Hall
The Mill was part of the complex of outbuildings, which later became Alder Carr Farm. The mill had Patent sails, which were transferred to a

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

at Kersey when the mill was dismantled. It served for many years as a dovecote. It is the only such example of a reused windmill buck remaining in the country. The building was derelict by the late 1970s but was restored in 1995, and moved to a new position on the farm, converted to a craft workshop. The buck retains all its original framing.

Description

Creeting St Mary Windmill was a post mill with four ''Patent sails''.

Public access

Alder Carr Farm is open every day 9:00 to 17:00 except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. The mill building is currently home to Halfpenny Home Haberdashery and all areas are open to the public Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00 and after Easter also on Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00.

References

{{Windmills in England Windmills in Suffolk Post mills in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures completed in 1796 Windmills completed in the 18th century Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Grade II listed buildings in Suffolk Grade II listed windmills Creeting St Mary 1796 establishments in England