Portland : two windmills

On the Isle of Portland you will find the only remains of old windmills in the whole of the county of Dorset and, sadly, there’s not much left of them to see.

In such a wild and windy location, it’s no surprise that, in medieval times, the local farmers used windmills to have their grain milled in to flour. A signboard near one of the stone towers explains:

The windmills were principally sited to utilise the open, windy landscape of the island and to provide a grain grinding facility for the local community.
Although the land was farmed by many individuals, the crop grown in a particular area was a common one and meant that harvesting took place all at one time.
The Islanders would bring their own grain to be milled as they wanted to use it. The miller would take some of the flour for his pay.

The windmill remains consist of two stone towers standing around 135 metres apart, now labelled the North windmill and the South windmill – I’m sure they once had different names, perhaps those of their owners or millers. According to the Historic England website, both towers are thought to date from the 17th century. The towers were constructed of rough coursed rubble, with walls approximately 650mm thick, and have a diameter of about 4 metres. The North windmill is now 5.5 metres tall and the South 7 metres.

The signboard gives a couple of interesting facts about the mills:

North windmill ... The timber wind-shaft was removed from the tower in 1983 after it became unsafe and has been stored in the garden of the Portland museum ever since.
South windmill ... This windmill incorporated an inserted concrete floor slab on corrugated shuttering probably from World War Two.

But, if you’re keen to read a more thorough history of the mills, the Encyclopedia of Portland History has a wonderfully informative entry here.