Chesterton Windmill

Chesterton Windmill is a 17th-century cylindric stone tower windmill with an arched base, located outside the village of Chesterton, Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building and a striking landmark in South-East Warwickshire.

History

The windmill is one of Warwickshire's most famous landmarks. It stands on a hilltop overlooking the village of Chesterton for nearly 350 years. It is near the Roman Fosse Way and about five miles (8 km) south-east of Warwick. It was built around 1632-1633, probably by Sir Edward Peyto, who was Lord of the Chesterton Manor House. At this time John Stone, a pupil of Inigo Jones, was in Chesterton designing the new Manor House and he probably helped with the windmill as well. Sir Edward was a Mathematician and Astrologer and probably his own architect to the windmill, but although claims have been made that the tower was originally built as an observatory, the estate accounts now at Warwick Record Office show that it has always been a windmill, making it the earliest tower mill in England to retain any of its working parts.