The history of Grade ll-listed Holgate Windmill in York

For most visitors to York its main attractions – York Minster, Clifford’s Tower and the National Railway Museum – are top of the must-see list.

But the historic city harbours lesser-known sights which will surprise and thrill anyone seeking them out. Holgate Windmill is one of them.

In its incongruous setting on a hilltop among suburban semi-detached homes, the location of the working structure is in itself interesting. The windmill sits on a small roundabout – once named best in Britain by the Roundabout Appreciation Society.

Holgate Windmill worked continuously between 1770 and 1933. Pictured in 1971, without sails Towering 45ft skywards, the four-storey, Grade ll-listed structure was built in 1770 by George Waud, a miller from Selby. In those days the skyline was dotted with windmills, with about 200 in York and the surrounding area. Today it is Yorkshire’s only working windmill and the oldest five-sailed windmill in the country.

Visitors enter by one of two doors which would originally have allowed millers to come and go when a sail was positioned across one of them.

Inside the wooden interior your eye is drawn upwards towards a number of cast iron wheels and cogs – the ‘tentering’ gear for the millstones above. This allows the miller to set the exact gap required between the two surfaces of the millstones.

We visited on a milling day, when volunteers were producing flour to transport to local bakeries.

Ros Hay weighing flour for bagging ‘The local primary school – Acomb Primary – also uses our flour to make food such as crumbles, biscuits and pizzas,’ says volunteer Lesley Jones, who is showing my husband and me around. ‘We are very much part of the community. Local children coming to visit often take some flour home to cook with.’

On a calm day, the process is powered by electricity. In suitable conditions wind power is used to turn the sails.

We watched as miller Steve Potts – who is also secretary of the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society – carefully made adjustments and checked the flour for consistency.

‘It can go from fine to coarse,’ he says. ‘The bottom stone stays still while the top one moves round, with small weights in between.’

Holgate Mill, 1910s. Explore York Libraries and Archives In days gone the small grooves on the millstones would have been re-cut , or ‘dressed’ by mill dressers using chisels, every three to six months. ‘We do it every three years,’ says Steve.

The mill produces strong wholemeal wheat flour, coarse strong wholemeal wheat flour, strong wholemeal spelt flour and wholemeal rye flour.

The regular rhythm of the workings felt like beating heart of the building as we climbed a ladder to the Stone Floor. The mill has four pairs of millstones – a high number for such a small mill.

‘You get to know the sounds of the mill, so if something goes wrong you know straight away,’ says Lesley. ‘When the caps turns there’s a creaking noise, and if the wind is in the right direction it makes a musical, humming sound.’

Holgate Mill, 1911. The miller who lived here from 1902 to 1924 was Herbert Warters. During his time the mill was still producing brown and white flower. Explore York Libraries and Archives Holgate Windmill worked continuously between 1770 and 1933. From then it stood empty and decaying until the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society was formed in 2001.

After more than a decade of fundraising a new set of sails was hoisted into place in December 2011. The restoration was completed in 2012.

The mill is run by volunteers. ‘They come from all over Yorkshire including Leeds, Wetherby, Knaresborough and Richmond,’ says Lesley. A millwright, Dave, visits monthly to carry out maintenance.

Says volunteer Alison Leadbetter: ‘It’s like the Fourth Bridge – the sails can rot at the point where the shutters fix into place. Dave goes up and down tapping, listening for signs of rot. We fill the wood or replace it with another piece.’

Holgate Windmill – York Minster can be seen in the distance. We climb to the second floor – the Bin Floor – where grain bins sit. There’s wall-mounted information; exhibitions are also held here. Next is the Dust Floor, where grain is stored in sacks. The mill’s main drive shaft is here – a huge piece of pine tree trunk dating back to 1770.

‘It may have been a ship’s mast,’ says Lesley. From this floor visitors can look up into the windmill’s cap.

Young children will enjoy seeking out the many toy rats dotted about the mill – a nod to the days when the rodents were a common sight. A model terrier and a toy cat – likely rat catchers of the times – can be spotted.

The views from the mill are stunning, from the city to the White Horse in Kilburn.

During Covid the demand for flour was such that the mill went into overdrive to keep up. ‘We had never sold so much. Queues stretched right down the road. We got through a year’s grain in three months – we were milling about four or five times a week,’ says Alison.

Holgate Windmill in The windmill in 1954 A gift shop stocks souvenirs including guide books, greeting cards, tea towels and, of course, flour. There’s a toilet too.

*holgatewindmill.org; Holgate Windmill, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York, YO26 4TX

Open every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday morning from 10am to 12 noon. The mill is in operation on Wednesday and Friday. From April to October Saturday opening extends to 4.00pm. There is no need to book.

Entry £5, free for under 16s and to members of the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society. All profits go towards the upkeep of the mill.

*Visitors can park on Acomb Road or take a bus. Bus services from the city centre which stop nearby include numbers 1, 5, 5A and the 59 Park + Ride to Poppleton Bar.