The Windmill Scarborough: Fascinating history behind unique windmill bed and breakfast in Yorkshire that was built 240 years ago and its links with the Civil War

The Grade II listed structure is the last remaining windmill in Scarborough and is considered a unique place to stay.

The building itself in its current form was built 240 years ago and is located at the end of a cul-de-sac with a car park and is only a five minute walk from the town centre and railway station.

It was converted into a bed and breakfast more than 30 years ago and also offers nearby self catering cottages for visitors.

There are two renovated flats within the windmill itself and each one is spread across two floors. They include a lounge/kitchen/dining area and an en-suite bedroom and the flats are for two adults.

If you walk up 38 steps, you will reach the balcony where you can admire stunning sea views.

While the current structure dates back to the 18th century, there was a previous windmill and the site it was built on dates further back than the Civil War.

History of The Windmill Scarborough

According to The Windmill website, a series of windmills have been built on this site for more than 500 years and there are leases that date back to 1601.

During the Civil War in 1645, Scarborough was surrounded by armed forces in an attempt to capture it. At this time, the windmill was used by Parliament’s General, Sir John Meldrum, as an artillery observation post.

This was a previous structure on the same site, the present structure was built by Thomas Robinson in 1784 when he was given permission to build a new mill.

During a gale in 1880, almost all of its sails were blown down and fell on a cowshed, killing a cow. The last remaining sail was removed in 1898 and the machinery was operated by a rare gas turbine engine until 1927.

Open countryside on common land was preserved around the windmill until around the turn of the 20th century before urban landscape took over as the Scarborough population increased.

The windmill was known as the Common Mill during the 19th century and was a corn mill at the time.

When corn mills ceased production around 1927, the Windmill eventually fell into disuse and was utilised in a variety of ways including seed storage, a bakery, newspaper distribution warehouse and a car park for locals.

In 1985, the Windmill was about to be demolished and the site turned into flats, but this was rejected and in 1988 Stephen Beecroft and Irene Mapplebeck bought the mill and turned it into a heritage hotel.

The Thompsons bought the mill in 1997 and built two self-catering flats within the structure, replaced the sails and dome in 1999 and refurbished the ground floor rooms in 2012.

The Windmill was passed over to Nicola and Andy in 2016 and they have spent years modernising and updating the accommodation and gates which were installed a few years ago.