Note the featured image above is © Saffron Walden Historical Society
The windmill, on Cambridge Road, Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire, was built in 1808.
In 1933 it was struck by lightning and an extract from the Fulbourn Chronicle on 5 July 1933 reads as follows:
Fulbourn Windmill-Famous Landmark in Danger
‘Fulbourn Windmill has been struck by lightning, and it is in danger of demolition.
The Chronicle learns that in a recent storm the mill was split from top to bottom on one side. Its sails were also damaged and it is likely that it will have to be dismantled. The steps leading into the mill were shattered, but a man standing only a foot away had a miraculous escape from injury. The mill was evidently struck twice, and heavy iron bolts were thrown 30 yards’ .
It then continues with ‘ ….Mr Mapey (the then owner) said the mill is one of the finest examples of Dutch work in England, and visitors from all over the world come to see it. With three sets of stones it is one of the most powerful windmills in England’
The mill became derelict after it ceased being used to grind grain in 1937 and was also struck again in the 1950’s. It deteriorated into a sad wreck before being restored by the Fulbourn Mill preservation society .
Today the “iconic” windmill is set to be restored to full working order after a charity stepped in to fund its repairs. Ian Harrison, its owner since 2006, has rebuilt its sails, but said the discovery of “fairly significant structural weaknesses” made the full restoration unaffordable. In the 1970s Mr Harrison said a group came together to restore the outside of the windmill. He said: “The group of volunteers did a fantastic job in getting it looking like a mill. By the mid-1990s it was looking like a mill again, although nothing actually worked.”
Ian explained that the major restoration project has only been able to move forward after the Wright’s Clock Land Fund agreed to award a “substantial“ grant to completely restore the mill. A number of conditions were attached to the grant funding, including the requirement for a charity to be set up to manage the mill.
Ian and his wife have agreed to lease the windmill to the new charity for 99 years and to ensure it will be open at times for the public to come and visit once it has been restored. Ian said it was “fantastic” the Wright’s Clock Land Fund had agreed to fund the restoration project.
For more information see BBC news article of 24 May 2025 and Cambridgeshire Live of 22 May 2025