Wimbledon Windmill Museum

Wimbledon Windmill Museum is a museum of windmills housed in the windmill on Wimbledon Common. It depicts the history of windmills and milling using working models and the machinery and tools of the trade, with hands-on milling for children.

In the entrance to the museum is a diorama showing how the windmill was built, with some of the early types of tools used in its construction. There is also an exhibition of woodworking tools donated by a millwright who worked on its restoration.

The museum contains many working models of windmills showing how they have developed from early Persian and Greek mills to modern wind farms. There are examples of the many post mills, tower mills and smock mills built in this country together with some unusual and experimental mills. There is a continuous performance of films explaining the working of windmills and the milling process in the ground floor video room.
There is a new exhibit in 2010 devoted to Wind Power.

On the first floor there are examples of milling machinery and equipment with explanations of how things were made and worked. There is a large working model of the windmill in its working days and push button displays showing the working of gears and millstones.

Children can try their hands at grinding wheat into meal using a saddle stone, pestle and mortar or a hand quern. They can also test their strength by lifting heavy sacks using a block and tackle or changing the cloth on windmill sails.

There are push button operated commentaries explaining the working of the millstones and describing life in the windmill after it was converted to living accommodation in 1864. There is, of course, always someone available to help and answer your questions.

A ladder leads up to the tower where you can look up to the remaining machinery in the cap and, on windy days, see it turning. Outside there are millstones and examples of farm machinery relating to milling.

Additional info

The Windmill is situated in the middle of Wimbledon Common, next to the Windmill Tea Rooms which are open every day. There is a large free car park with public toilets.