| Balsall Common Mill, Berkswell | |
|---|---|
| Berkswell Windmill - geograph.org.uk - 558106.jpg Balsall Common Mill, Berkswell |
|
|
Location within West Midlands
|
|
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Windmill |
| Town or city | Balsall Common, West Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 1826 |
Berkswell windmill or Balsall Common mill is a four bladed tower mill constructed in 1826 on the site of a former post mill,[1] near the village of Balsall Common, in the parish of Berkswell, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands. The windmill is built in red brick with a wood and metal boat shaped turret, and is turned into the wind by an endless chain winding mechanism. It was historically used to grind flour and animal feeds, and in 1927 the milling wheels were adapted to run off of a static engine, not reliant upon the variable nature of the wind. The mill was finally closed in 1948, after the last miller John Hammond died.[2][3]
The windmill is a grade II listed building and a scheduled monument. It is in private ownership, but is accessible to the public on the first Saturday of each month.[4][3] It was restored between 1973 and 1975, by the Millwright Derek Ogden, for its then owner, and was mostly complete, with sails and all internal machinery and tools for making flour and animal feed. However, after the death of the owner the windmill again fell into some disrepair until purchased by the current owner in 2004. It is currently undergoing further extensive restoration work, in part with £90,000 funding from English Heritage.[1][3]
The refurbishment work includes for removing the windmill's whole roof section for complete refurbishment, and new sails. This is expected to allow the windmill to operate on wind power again, albeit infrequently for demonstration days.[3]