Windmill's 'Grand Designs' project
A Shropshire windmill that has been in the ownership and lived in by the same family for 88 years has come up for sale - The Old Windmill, Windmill Lane, Albrighton is being sold as a "Grand Designs" project.
A Shropshire windmill that has been in the ownership and lived in by the same family for 88 years has come up for sale.
The Old Windmill, Windmill Lane, Albrighton is being sold as a "Grand Designs" project. It is on the market with Berriman Eaton of Shifnal for around £475,000.
A unique home built in 1768, it is Grade II listed and stands amidst rolling Shropshire countryside on the outskirts of town.
It is believed that the windmill was originally a corn mill and no one can remember it ever having any sails.
Caroline Morris (above, with family), who grew up living in the windmill with her sisters Elizabeth and Angela, brother John and parents Charles and Bridget said that she and her sisters were known at school - The Blessed Robert Johnson in Wellington - as "the windmill girls".nextpage
A distinctive building, with an observatory-style room at the top, which would be wonderful as an artist's studio, it has enormous character and superb, far-reaching views from the upper storeys.
Bruce Atwood of Berriman Eaton said: "The Old Windmill provides the perfect challenge for someone looking for a Grand Designs style project.
"The accommodation is over five storeys with the additional 60s extension and outbuildings, allowing for fantastic living space and ideal for a family once the renovation is complete.
"It is certainly not for the faint-hearted and would welcome an architect's vision and general guidance, whilst also working closely with the local planning office."nextpage
The property is constructed on a sandstone base with an engraved date stone placing the original part of the house in the Georgian period.
In the early 20th century the windmill was owned by the Earl of Shrewsbury who rented it to Colonel Thorneycroft of Tettenhall Towers, now Tettenhall College, who built the upper storey as a room from which to survey the Shropshire Hills.
The Earl of Shrewsbury sold it as part of his estate in 1918 to a Mr Hoole, who in turn sold it a year later to the current family.
The windmill was extended over the ground and first floors in the early 1960s to add more living space.
The house comprises a glazed porch, stone steps and a door into a beamed and raftered sitting room, a secondary staircase rising to the first-floor principal bedroom, inner-hall, kitchen with oil-fired Rayburn and walk-in pantry, rear hall, cloakroom, bathroom and first-floor landing.
There's also a sitting room, bedroom one with wooden floor, heavily-beamed ceiling, bedroom two with superb views and wardrobe, and bedroom three with superb views, wardrobe and wc.
On the second floor is bedroom four, while on the third floor, with its wooden flooring, beamed and raftered ceiling, there is some original windmill machinery and an open-tread staircase to the fourth-floor observatory with stunning 360 degree panoramic views.
Outside, the gardens are predominantly lawned with mature trees and planted borders to one side, a large gravelled driveway to the front with parking for a number of cars and shrub land to the far side backing onto surrounding fields.
The Windmill has a substantial range of outbuildings, providing the basis for excellent garaging or workshop with the potential for conversion to host a variety of different uses, subject to planning permissions.
Further details from Berriman Eaton's Shifnal office on 01952 463345.
