Pitstone 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 ...

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

in England. It is thought to have been built in the early 17th century, and stands in the northeastern corner of a large field near the parish boundary of Ivinghoe and

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south o ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Presently, the windmill belongs to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

History

It is thought to have been first built circa 1627 as this date is carved on part of the framework. This is the earliest date to be found on any windmill in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. It should be remembered that such a structure would have needed frequent repairs, so the mill may predate 1627. It was dendrochronologically dated in 2004 by Dr. Martin Bridge of the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory when the oldest pieces in the buck were found to be from trees felled in winter 1595/96 and spring 1597. The 'new' crown tree was made from a tree that felled in spring 1670, while the quarter bars of the trestle were from trees felled between 1824 and 1826, so like most mills, it is a mix of old timbers variously recycled or hanging on from their original use. For nearly three hundred years

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

grown in the two adjoining villages was ground at the mill into

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

. In 1874 the mill was bought by Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow who owned the nearby Ashridge Estate. He subsequently left it to a local farmer, who ran a successful milling business from the mill. In 1902, the mill was damaged beyond economic repair during an enormous gale. Around 1922, the derelict ruined mill was bought from the Ashridge Estate by a farmer whose land was close to the mill. In 1937, he donated it to the National Trust. However, it was not until 1963 that a band of volunteers began to carry out renovations at their own expense. The mill appeared in an episode of

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

entitled ''The Invisible Man'', which was filmed in 1967. In 1970, after an interlude of 68 years, the mill once again ground corn. Today the windmill is open to the public on Summer Friday afternoons. Pitstone Windmill - geograph

Design

Pitstone is 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 ...

, with the superstructure of the mill resting on a central post. The post rises from ground level, passing through a brick foundation chamber. The post is the pivot for the wooden body and sails above the chamber. The body and sails can be turned to face the direction of the wind. Reinforcements added in the 20th century prevented the upper section from turning. The mill machinery in the rotating section was reached by a flight of external steps.

References

External links

Pitstone Windmill information at the National Trust
{{Authority control Windmills in Buckinghamshire National Trust properties in Buckinghamshire Museums in Buckinghamshire Post mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in Buckinghamshire Mill museums in England Buildings and structures completed in 1627 Windmills completed in the 17th century 1627 establishments in England

Windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

Ivinghoe