Windmill

The windmill, originally known as Hoyle's Mill, was built in 1837 by the Alford millwright Sam Oxley and was restored in 1979. It is a tower mill made of black bitumen painted brick, featuring five wooden sails and an ogee cap. The structure has six floors that taper towards a moulded top. The ground floor has double doors, while the other floors feature two-light sliding sash windows on all four sides, each with segmental heads. A timber balcony encircles the second floor, complete with a plain iron balustrade and double doors for access. On one side of the mill, there is a small cast iron flywheel, and on the opposite side, a fantail mounted on a cantilevered framework. The interior retains all floors, four pairs of stones, and ironwork and gearing made by Tuxfords of Boston, all of which are still in working order. This windmill is the last remaining of Alford's four tower mills. The flywheel at the base connects via a pulley to an engine in an adjacent shed, which was powered by town gas when there was not enough wind to operate the mill.