Great Chishill Windmill Trust: News May 2026
It was with sadness that we heard of the death of David McKeown a few months ago. David led the works for the Great Chishill Windmill Trust at the time of the windmill’s renovation. His contribution is much appreciated by the Trust, and discussions are ongoing with Wendy, his widow, regarding a suitable memorial.
The Trustees organised our fourth and very successful snowdrop viewing at meadows just outside Harston in February, thanks to the owner who is a keen supporter of the village and the Windmill. Just over £1000 was raised from donations with approx. 200 people visiting.
Working with Lyndsey Crawley and Jill Kuenzi we organised a weekend of activities in the Village Hall just before Easter. Saturday saw a craft fair and in the evening a chilli supper and performance by The Elderlys (thanks to Bill Jones and fellow musicians). On the Sunday we announced the winner of the photography and marmalade making competitions at the Marmalade Breakfast event which included a performance by Bill’s other ensemble ‘The Borrowers’. £2,150 was raised for the windmill and church funds. We hope to make this weekend of activities an annual event around Easter time.
The Windmill opened for tours (10:00 to 16:00) on the second and fourth Sundays from the start of April and will continue through to the end of September. Volunteer guides (three in the morning and three in the afternoon organised by Neil Heywood) are available to answer visitors’ questions and provide tours. These continue to prove very popular. Although we don’t charge, visitors have been very generous with donations, and we have windmill themed sale items available (which can also be purchased via the windmill website). Takings so far have averaged around £150 for each Sunday. We are always on the lookout for more guides and helpers.
We now have a CCTV camera installed at the windmill which will hopefully dissuade anti-social behaviour by noisy car owners, who annoy people living nearby and have with no interest in the mill. In addition, we are in discussion with the owner of the neighbouring house to instal a gate across the entrance to restrict parking to day light hours.
The maintenance of the mill has continued during the year with regular greasing of the main bearing and fan tail mechanism and repairs to ensure the Windmill remains watertight and turns into wind to keep it safe. The windmill was re-painted last Autumn. We have a team of volunteers who regularly cut the grass and keep the site looking neat.
We submitted a pre-planning application to SCDC to make use of the land to the west of the windmill which the landowner has generously offered to lease to us. We would plan to use this land for car parking and for occasional fund-raising activities. The planning officer advised us on what we would need to include in a formal application for this to be acceptable. We have described our plans to the Parish Council and have also obtained support from a Barley Village Councillor and from James Hobro, our District Councillor. Recent discussions with the landowner have confirmed his support for our proposal. We are finalising our re-submission for planning permission.
Additional fund raising will be required to take the windmill to its next stage of renovation with rotating sails. Our long-term objective will involve removing the existing sails, manufacturing new sails, shutters and actuation metalwork and ensuring the windshaft rotates safely on new bearings. Total cost is estimated at £250,000 which includes extending the site to improve access, safety and increasing the parking and leisure areas.
If you’d like to help us look after this iconic village asset, just contact us. We’re a friendly group and can provide a variety of roles for anyone interested in history, technology or just wanting to do some volunteering.
John Wahlich on behalf of the Great Chishill Windmill Trust