Wilton Windmill
The only operating windmill in Wessex, set in a stunning dark sky location in the heart of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire.
May the wind always be in her sails!
Set high above the village of Wilton, in the heart of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Beauty, about 9 miles south east of Marlborough in Wiltshire, stands Wilton Windmill. She is now over 200 years old, the only working windmill in Wessex, yet still producing wholemeal, stone-ground flour (windmills are always 'she').


Wilton Windmill was built in 1821 after the new Kennet and Avon canal had been built. This canal was built over and through the site of some local watermills and the pumps providing the water for the canal also lowered the river levels so that the remaining watermills were no longer viable.
The mill was in operation for 100 years, however with the introduction of new steam roller mills and fast production of cheap bread it became unwanted, was abandoned and then fell into disrepair. The mill was finally restored to its former glory in 1976, by a team of dedicated volunteers.
Get Involved…
Become a Volunteer!
With the wide range of volunteering activities we have on offer, which of these roles would suit you?
Milling: This is of course what it’s all about! How do you fancy learning to be a miller? Learn how to start and stop the mill and how to produce our flour that we sell locally. Start by working alongside our experienced millers and eventually progress to working the mill yourself if you have the knack for it!
Maintenance: Maybe maintenance is more your thing? This is a critical role because we can’t mill the flour if the mill isn’t working! So if you like getting your hands dirty, being covered in oil and grease, are good at making and repairing things and can turn your hand to painting and cleaning… this is for you! Oh, you may need a head for heights too!
Shop Assistant: When the windmill is open we also open our delightful custom built shepherds hut for visitors to enjoy refreshments and to purchase entry tickets and other merchandise. If you can make a decent cuppa, serve cakes, biscuits and ice creams, sell tickets, wash up and chat to our visitors in a friendly and welcoming manner you would make an excellent half of a pair of volunteers that operate the shop.
Guiding: We have a team of guides who usually work in pairs during the normal Sunday afternoon openings, and in teams on our special event days. If you want to learn all about the mill and then let others know about its history and how it works, this is a great role for a ‘people person’ who loves chatting and can relate to the wide range of visitors that we attract each year. We have found that drama students or those with amateur dramatic experience can find this role particularly enjoyable and rewarding as they are able to bring the working conditions of the millers of old to life for our modern day visitors.
Conducting Group Visits: A very similar role to Guiding and indeed many of our Sunday guides conduct group visits. If you see yourself working alongside a couple of other volunteers inspiring a group of people, apply now! Visiting groups are very varied and include Brownies, Guides, Scouts, schools, Women’s Institute, ramblers and groups of people with various disabilities. Group visits are more likely to take place on weekdays rather than a weekend day.
Flour bagging: When the milling team have milled some flour, the bagging team comes into its own, measuring the correct quantity of flour out of the large sacks and sealing it into the small bags that we date stamp and sell locally. They are a friendly team, chatting away about any and everything whist they work and drink tea!
Leafleting and Deliveries: When our bags of flour are ready to sell, we need volunteers who can regularly deliver it to one of the local farm shops that we sell it in and build up a good rapport with those businesses. From time to time, we also need people willing to put up posters or deliver leaflets in nearby villages and towns and we like to have enough volunteers to have all areas covered.
Cake making: We raise a lot of money by selling delicious home made cakes at our special events. If you can bake a decent cake we need you!
Helping at events: Each year we hold a few special events and are always grateful for volunteers who will help with a multitude of tasks such as moving tables and chairs, putting up tents and lights, and of course, taking it all down again afterwards!
Committee Membership: Some of our volunteers nominate themselves to become committee members of the Wilton Windmill Society and if elected they get a real chance to lead and shape the direction of the future of the mill and the events that we organise. There are many roles available on the committee including Chairman, Treasurer, and co-ordinators for Milling, Publicity, Membership, Public Relations, Maintenance and Shepherds Hut as well as General Committee Members.
Upcoming Events

