Moulton Windmill friends planning weekend of events for 200th anniversary

One of South Holland’s most historic attractions will celebrate its 200th anniversary next year.

Moulton Windmill, which was restored and opened to the public in the mid-2000s, is the tallest surviving building of its kind in the UK.

Standing at 100-feet high, it now hosts tours and houses Moulton’s sole tearoom - and plans are now in place to celebrate its two centuries of history.

Alan Lambert (75), who is chairman of the Friends of the Mill and volunteers as a tour guide, is excited for a weekend of events in April 2022.

“We have a few ideas at the moment, but it will be over that weekend of April 29 again because that coincides not only with our 200 years but also with the anniversary of when we opened to the public in 2005,” he told the Lincolnshire Free Press.

“We’ve got one folk group booked for a night. There are a whole host of ideas being banded around at the moment.”

Plans are being hatched to tie the event in with the Queen’s jubilee celebrations, which will take place around the same time.

For Mr Lambert, whose wife Monica runs the mill’s tearoom, this is an opportunity to pay tribute to a building he has adored since moving to the village 18 years ago.

“It’s the only tearoom in the village, so it is a tourist attraction,” he said.

“I thoroughly enjoy meeting people coming from all different parts of the country.

“From that side of it, long may it continue. As long as I can, I’ll be involved with it. Every day I’m excited to go in.

“I don’t think there’s a bad comment on it from people that go on the tour. They’re mostly surprised at how much there is and they leave very nice comments, which is why we do it.

“It’s nice to show it off and have visitors appreciate it, going round it and seeing it.

“A lot of people see windmills but don’t know how they work, so they’re shown through all that.”

Business has been steady at the mill since it reopened following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, but Mr Lambert says a shortage of volunteers has left them unable to open on Thursdays.

A gallery and new sails have been added throughout the years since, and Mr Lambert says anyone wishing to help out will be more than welcome.

Since John Biggadike, the last working miller at the Grade I listed building, retired in 1995, a book titled The Story Of Moulton Windmill has been published, detailing its history from his point of view.