Hello, my name is Bex Longhurst and I have started as a new volunteer for the Windmill in Bursledon, Southampton, UK. Having lived by the windmill for 20+ years of my life, and spent many days of my childhood playing on the site and in the woods behind it, it holds a very special place in my heart. There are many people local to the area who can say the same, and who also look back at the site with fond memories.

What‘s the problem?

After my first volunteer stint at the Windmill, I noticed that the site is significantly lacking in the basic necessities for easily maintaining the site and there are lots of professional jobs that need doing. A number of the volunteers are actively bringing and/or using their own equipment, and adding wear and tear to their own items, in order to maintain the site. As volunteers who already give their time, it feels like the very minimum would be to provide basic equipment that is functional.

There is a wheelbarrow on site, but it is falling apart, there is a brush that has been sweeping for so long that the bristles are only about 1 inch long, the mower doesn’t start and we cant buy the parts for a repair due to lack of funding. This story is much of the same across most of the (lack of) equipment at the site. Anything that needs doing which crops up can’t realistically be funded, and will therefore have to be put to the bottom of the priority list - over time, this builds up, leading to the windmill into disrepair.

However, as volunteers we persevere with what we’ve got and we try to make a decent job of it, but this could be easier and better. There are lots of jobs that need doing around the site which, financially, aren’t currently viable.

(Photo above taken by one of our volunteers, Bryn, on 20/04/26)

A brief history of the mill

If you didn’t already know - Bursledon Windmill was built in 1814, and it is Hampshire’s only working windmill and a rare piece of living history that has stood watch over the Bursledon community for more than two centuries. After falling into disrepair, it was painstakingly restored and reopened to the public in 1991, giving generations of families, children, and visitors the chance to experience a unique part of our local heritage.

Recently, it has fallen on uncertain and hard times - after the withdrawal of all funding by the Hampshire Cultural Trust, the Hampshire County Council, and also Eastleigh Borough Council, which leaves the mill with basically no financial support to preserve the windmill. It was defined by these organisations that the site is “no longer financially viable as a visitor attraction” - which we strongly disagree. Right now, it isn’t in a visitor worthy state, but we hope that with more funding and help we could change that.

It was last open during the 2023 season before its usual winter closure, and then closed permanently to the public at the end of March 2024, when no sustainable funding solution could be secured.

So, what is going to happen to it?

We can’t know for sure, and this absolutely remarkable landmark faces uncertain future. But there are great people at the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust (HBPT) who are exploring larger avenues for funding - but until that happens, there is minimum financial support from the HBPT available and it is relying heavily on volunteer’s time and gear. Without additional support and funding and regular maintenance of the site, we risk losing not just a windmill, but an irreplaceable part of Bursledon’s story - a place of education, memory, history, and pride.

What will the volunteers do with the money?

Now, while its future is being currently decided, a small group of volunteers are actively working hard to help maintain the site grounds and buildings to prevent further decline where possible. Funds raised will be used to buy practical equipment and professional help to support that work, starting with a much-needed heavy-duty wheelbarrow but there is no hard ceiling on how much we need to raise - this will require constant maintenance and a team of people to keep it going strong.

Therefore, your donation will directly help those caring for the windmill to pay for all the extra things that desperately need attention but we can’t currently get funding for, and therefore protecting this extraordinary local landmark for the future.

Every donation, no matter the size, can help protect this historic treasure and give it a fighting chance to be enjoyed again by future generations.

Please help us to keep Bursledon Windmill alive while its fate is decided!

It is up to us as a local community to rise together in difficult times like these to make a difference and help maintain something that is locally, so significant. It is up to us to help preserve this site for future generations to come.

Thanks for reading,

Bex & the windmill volunteer team