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Windmills of the Vale Long Clawson tower mill in 2025. Trying to establish how many windmills there have been in the Vale of Belvoir is tricky. Wooden windmills blew down, caught fire, were intentionally demolished and – rather more often than you might think – moved to new locations. Sometimes there is surviving documentary evidence. But mostly not. Brick-built tower mills don't ever move and rarely fall down without a lot of assistance so are more likely to survive into the later twentieth century when it became fashionable to convert them into houses. And then there's the 6 inch to one mile OS maps surveyed in the 1880s. These mark windmills that were operational at the time of the survey – for the Vale it was 1883. But, fairly obviously, the 1883 maps don't show windmills which were no longer there. I have combined a 'trawl' through all the OS maps with information on two Wikipdeia pages: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_windmills_in_Leicestershire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_windmills_in_Nottinghamshire But these are unreliable because, although they list some windmills that had ceased operation before 1883, they don't include all the windmills on the 1883 OS maps. So far I've found over twenty windmills in the Vale and and another eight close to the borders. There were also watermills at Easthorpe and, just outside the Vale, at Sedgebrook and Stenwith. The mills at Muston, Stenwith and Gaddesby (Leicestershire) seem to have originated as watermills with a brick windmill added in the nineteenth century to provide alternative power. As soon as internal combustion engines became available in the early twentieth century they replaced both water and wind power. Five or six of the Vale's windmills were built after the Grantham Canal was opened as they were located close to the bank to take full advantage of waterborne transport. Windmills within the Vale Aslockton had a windmill to the north of the village. Barkestone le Vale's windmill was described as a newly-erected, six-storey brick tower mill in 1839. It was still operational in 1895 but, by 1905, a 12 horsepower steam engine was used to power it, and it had ceased functioning by 1927. The remnants are still visible in old photographs of The Green between a granary and a dairy. The site is now private property. The red dot on the 1883 map showns the approximate location. Bingham windmill was on the western side of the town. A second mill is shown to the north-east of the market place, but this does not seem to be a windmill. Was it powered by a steam engine? Was it previously a windmill? Bottesford had three windmills plus a watermill at Easthorpe. About 1800 Top Mill was built near the canal, and two other mills on Queen Street and Belvoir Road (Mill Lane) were in operation during the nineteenth century. However only one mill is shown on the 1883 OS map and, significantly, it is not marked as a windmill. Again was it powered by steam? Eaton The windmill working in 1883 was to the east of the village. Another mill is shown to the north. Was this once a windmill that had been modernised to steam power? Elston A windmill is shown on the 1883 OS map to the south of the village and another to the north. Granby-cum-Sutton The site of a moated Norman farmstead evolved into the windmill shown on the 1883 OS map. Harby The former tower windmill to the north of the village has been converted into a private residence. The ruins of a second windmill survive to the west, also by the canal, and in 1883 there was a third windmill to the south. Long Clawson tower mill is also still extant and used as a domestic dwelling (see photograph at the top of this page ). In 1883 there was also second windmill to the west. Muston In the south of the parish by the canal the 1883 OS map shows Scrimshaw's Windmill. This was later known as Sedgebrook Mill, even though it is not in Sedgebrook parish. Normanton An eighteenth century windmill on Beacon Hill was operational until about 1850. No windmills are shown on the 1883 OS map. Orston's windmill was, predictably, on Mill Lane. But not on the first hill closest to the village. The oldest record of a mill in Orston is 1216. The last one was shipped to New Zealand in 1916 to become that country's first working windmill. And possibly the last, as steam and internal combustion engines were already being installed in mills by then. Redmile once had two mills but only one is shown on the 1883 map. Stathern had a windmill, rather unusually, close to the churchyard. There was a second to the south-east of the village. Thoroton A windmill is shown on the 1883 OS map . Whatton Another mill operational in 1883. Windmills without the Vale There are seven windmills close to the Vale which may well have been used by farmers within the Vale. Croxton Kerrial The tower mill is still extant and has been converted to a domestic residence. East Bridgford There were once two mills. Farndon Hickling windmill was west of village near the parish boundary with Kinoulton at the end of Mill Lane. Nether Broughton Newton Stenwith windmill is still extant but ruinous. On the site of a watermill which almost certainly originated before the Norman Conquest. In the 1930s Karl Wood cycled out from his home in Gainsborough to sketch windmills throughout England just when they were going out of use. He amassed images of 1,394 different windmills in England. The collection was acquired by Lincolnshire Museum Service. Wood visited the Vale in June 1932 and painted the windmills at Harby, Long Clawson, Muston, and Stathern. Michael Honeybone reproduced them in his 1987 book The Vale of Belvoir. Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland