Brixton Windmill
Once upon a time (up to the mid-19th Century), Brixton was mostly fields. In 1816, in these open fields, a windmill was built, and the following year acquired by John Ashby, part of a milling family. The Ashbys produced a stoneground wholemeal flour from the mill until 1862; by this time, Brixton had fewer fields and more house, which prevented sufficient wind from reaching the mill to turn the sails.
The Ashbys removed the sails from the mill, and kept the tower as a storage facility, moving their business to watermills further south in Mitcham. In 1902, technological advances allowed the Ashbys to install a steam-driven millstone in the windmill, and resume the production of flour. This continued until 1934 (with steam power later changing to gas power), when the last miller, Joshua Ashby, passed away.
London County Council acquired the mill in 1957, and from the 1960s onwards the building went through several cycles of restoration for public visits, followed by neglect and vandalism. English Heritage placed the windmill on their Buildings at Risk register in 2002. In 2010, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant for the restoration of the windmill. This secured the restoration of the sails, cap and tower, the conversion of the steam/gas millstone to electrical power. The mill is now open for guided tours on selected weekends, and still produces a fine wholemeal flour for visitors to purchase.
