Ellis Mill, Lincoln.
Years ago on Lincoln's windswept escarpment just north of the Castle could be seen nine windmills to process the corn grown in the many open fields to the north of the city. Whilst they were ideally situated to catch the westerly winds their exposed position left them at the mercy of violent gales. A particularly bad storm occured in February 1715 when two of the mills were blown down and around 50 others is the county suffered a similar fate. Over time others fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished. The last mill to survive, operating until 1940, was Ellis Mill, a tower mill built in 1798 and which replaced an earlier mill on the site. It has a full complement of sails until 1916 when two were removed because of weakness at the top of the tower. In 1977 Lincoln Civic Trust purchased the mill, which was derelict which having suffered a fire 4 years earlier, with a view to restoring it. Today the mill is in full working order with 4 new sails and is once again producing flour.
