Listed Building record MDO6519 - South Windmill at Easton, Portland

A tower mill for the processing of cereals. The windmill is probably 17th century as it is shown on a Hutchins map of 1710. Dated to probably 1626.

Marked as a corn mill on the first edition OS map. <1>

A disused windmill, now roofless and derelict. Probably built in the 17th century. Built of rough coursed rubble. It consists of a slightly tapered cylindrical shaft. The top of this windmill is more sharply battered than the windmill to the NW. It is c. 4m in diameter and it stands c. 7m high. It has various openings at three levels. Most of these are flush single stone quoins, lintels and weathered cills to small upright rectangular lights with ashlar dressings. There is a blocked door on the SE side, and a door opening to the NE with a slight basket-arch head with ashlar jambs. The windmill had a concrete floor laid into it on corrugated shuttering probably during world war II to adapt it for use as a pill-box. It is one of only two remaining windmills on the island. It is shown on Hutchins map of 1710. <2-4>

Disused tower of corn windmill, roofless. Probably C17. First shown on a map of 1626 by William Simplon, later on a map of 1710 and all thereafter. Home Guard observation post inserted into the tower. The tower stands close to the edge of a deep Perryfield quarry. <7>

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1864, 1886, Ordnance Survey 25-inch map, epoch one (Map). SDO10239.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3 (Monograph). SDO150.

'(13)Windmills, two (690713 and 691712), circular with battered walls of stone rubble, are shown on the map of Portland dated 1710 reproduced in Hutchins II, 809, and may be of the 17th century. They are both roofless and derelict (Plate 145); the top of the S. mill, which is more sharply battered, has probably been rebuilt and the lower part has been adapted as a modern pill-box. The doorway to the S. mill has ashlar jambs and elliptical head and the windows to both mills have ashlar dressings.'

<3> Brown, R J, 1976, Windmills of England (Monograph). SWX2156.

<4> Bryan, T, 1998, Windmill gazetteer for England, 4 (Monograph). SWX2184.

<5> DOE (HRR), 17 May 1993, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: Borough of Weymouth and Portland amendment 1993 (Scheduling record). SWX2185.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF002016 (Index). SDO14738.

SOUTH WINDMILL, PORTLAND

<7> AC Archaeology, 2002, The Isle of Portland Review of Mineral Planning Permissions Stage 1: archaeological baseline study for Hanson Bath & Portland Stone, document no. 4299/1/4. (Unpublished document). SDO10260.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 497549 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 868143 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 11 2023 12:28PM