170-year-old hidden gem windmill with ‘magnificent view’ set to reopen

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

In a quiet cul-de-sac sits a 170-year-old windmill which boasts views from Wembley to Windsor on a good day.

But this hidden gem has been even more hidden thanks to the pandemic keeping visitors to a minimum for the past three years.

But that is about to change as it reopens fully to the public this summer.

The Shirley Windmill is one of four open to the public in Greater London. Hidden off the main road in the middle of Postmill Close in a corner of Croydon, the iconic structure is easy to miss.

Built in 1854 by the Alwen family, it was a working mill processing grain until 1892.

In the 100 years that followed it fell into disrepair before being saved by a wealthy landowner in the 1920s and then sold to the Croydon Corporation in 1950 when the John Ruskin School was built on surrounding land.

The school was closed and demolished in 1990 with land around the windmill sold to a developer, which created Postmill Close.

At the time, Frank Paine was a structural engineer working at Croydon council who had done work on the windmill in 1989.

He was one of the first members of the Friends of Shirley Windmill, which is responsible for opening the windmill to the public once a month during the summer.

This summer will see a full programme of open days and tours open to the public after a pandemic hiatus which saw reduced numbers allowed in.

Mr Paine said the windmill gives an insight into Croydon’s past as a rural area, far from the built up London borough it is today.

He said: “Shirley really wasn’t built up until the 1920s, it was all farmland – Croydon was an agricultural town. When the Crystal Palace was built, there would have been a magnificent view from here.

“It sat untouched for many years. When it was part of John Ruskin, bizarrely the boys were never allowed to go into it. I believe it was used as a gym store.”

The windmill is still owned by Croydon council, which is responsible for any repairs. But general upkeep and all tours are run by volunteers from the Friends group.

After the school was closed down, houses were built around the windmill. Trevor and Valerie Bradbury bought one of the these houses new and still live in the property which overlooks the windmill.

Mr Bradbury said: “We had been living in the Shirley area and were looking to move, my wife wanted something new but I wanted something more traditional. We had been looking for some time when we both woke up one Saturday morning and said what about the windmill?

“My wife came that day and we put an offer in. We both just liked it. It is great living next to the windmill, it is something different. Sometimes they bring schoolchildren up here to look at it.”

The next open day is on May 14, which will be followed by six throughout the summer, with the last on October 1.

Pictured top: The Shirley Windmill in Postmill Close (Pictured top: Tara O’Connor)