High Salvington Windmill in Worthing offers free guided tours for National Mills Weekend

An amateur radio station will be set up inside the Round House and operators will be attempting to contact other windmills in the UK and beyond. In the past, they have successfully reached windmill projects in France, the Netherlands and all over the UK.

The theme for this year’s event is New Life for Old Mills, celebrating the repair of wind and watermills, which allows those important historical buildings to survive for future generations to come.

High Salvington Windmill, in Furze Road, is a black post mill, built around 1750. It worked for nearly 150 years and was last the remaining mill to serve the Worthing area, until it was closed in 1897.

Worthing Borough Council purchased it in 1959 for £2,250, to save it from being destroyed by neglect and the weather. But storm damage during a gale in 1976 put it in danger and the High Salvington Mill Trust was formed, with a plan to restore the mill completely.

The hurricane in 1987 gave the mill its first taste of renewed life, with the wind turning the single pair of sails for the first time, even though the brake was on.

The mill, which now produces stoneground flour, is open from April to September each year, usually on the first and third Sunday in the month, from 2.30pm to 5pm. Admission is £1 for adults, children free.

For National Mills Weekend 2022, the mill will be open on Sunday, May 8, from 2.30pm. There is no admission charge that day but donations are welcome.

Visit www.highsalvingtonwindmill.co.uk for more information.

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