Chesterton Windmill - Restoration

Restoration

It seems the mill has undergone three major reconstructions, one in 1776 when the mill shaft was modified, and the date carved in the tail of the shaft, and one in 1860 when the old curb and cap framing was altered. By 1910 it had ceased to function as a mill because the winding gear failed to operate, so that her last miller, William Haynes, was no longer able to turn the mill's cap round to make the sails face the wind. He abandoned the mill and moved to Harbury tower mill, one mile to the east. In the 1930s the mill was sometimes used for milling at properous winds. Minor repairs to the sails and the wind vane took place. In the early 1950s one sail broke off and was restored years after. It was not until 1969 that a larger reconstruction of Chesterton Mill began again under the control of Warwickshire County Council, now responsible for its upkeep, and the reconstruction of the machinery. The windmill repairs were finished in 1971, and the mill reopened for a few days to the public each year in summertime (volunteers from nearby villages help run the open days and provide stewards for the event).

In 1975 it was awarded one of the Civic Trust Heritage Awards.

A stone tower similar to Chesterton Windmill exists in Newport, RI, U.S.A. The commonly accepted theory is that it was built by Benedict Arnold around 1676 after a previous wooden mill was blown down in 1675. It is not quite the same as Chesterton Windmill, having eight round pillars, but it was very similar. The Arnold family, whose place of origin is disputed but may have been either Leamington or further down the Fosse Way, near Ilchester in Somerset, emigrated to Rhode Island in 1635 where Benedict became governor in 1663. This, together with the documentary evidence for the Tower's use as a mill in Arnold's will and the lack of archaeological evidence for the site having been used before the mid-17th century, has led to the generally accepted theory that the Newport Tower was based on Chesterton Windmill. However, some historians, as well as amateur researchers, dispute this theory and have claimed that it is several centuries older, thus being evidence of a pre-Columbian (Viking) settlement in New England.