Historic windmill in Milton Keynes set to be restored at a cost of almost half a million pounds

Bradwell windmill was built in 1805 and is thought to be the oldest tower mill in Buckinghamshire.

Open on selected days, it can be seen in action during the summer, grinding flour between its millstones.

But the infrastructure is starting to fail and the historic fabric is in need of repairs, says MK City Council.

The council is spending £470,000 to fix and preserve the Grade II-listed windmill and improve access and usability for visitors.Work is expected in May and be completed by October 2026.

Once the windmill is renovated, the council says it will transfer the lease of the building and the site to Milton Keynes Museum, based a mile away.

The large "investment “secures the mill's long-term sustainability as a unique attraction and community asset in a priority area of need, says the council.

The windmill was used to grind barley and wheat before it shut in 1876 due to the increasing use of steam power.

The Railway Company purchased the adjacent land in the 1860s to develop the former Wolverton to Newport Pagnell line, but the mill was left untouched for more than 100 years.

Between the 1970s and 1990s it was refurbished by the former Milton Keynes Development Corporation, which restored its milling mechanism and made it watertight

Then, in 2014, the sails were refurbished and the machinery restored so it could become a working mill again.

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