Welcome to the Suffolk Mills Group

Suffolk Mills Group is a Voluntary Association for those helping to care for Suffolk’s Heritage of old windmills and watermills. Founded in 1977 at an inaugural meeting held in Woodbridge Tide Mill, our aims are:

• To stimulate public awareness of mills
• To encourage the proper restoration and conservation of mills
• To carry out restoration and conservation work
  to record the surviving mills
• To co-ordinate technical, historical and social research about mills
• To publish articles and other material on mills

The Group is run by an honorary executive committee, elected annually at the AGM, which discusses policy and fixes the programme of events. Close links are maintained with the Mills Section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), other mills groups around the country and local organisations with similar interests.

From Spring to Autumn there are visits to mills, often those not open to the public and there are also opportunities to see mills at work, such as the preserved drainage mill at Herringfleet, which is frequently demonstrated by the Group on public open days.

During the winter there is an informal members’ evening when members can get together to chat about mills and show their pictures or films to others in a relaxed atmosphere over a glass of wine. Each year a formal public meeting is held at which guest speakers talk on a theme related to mills; past events have covered topics as diverse as modern wind power and old fashioned millwrighting. The families and friends of members are welcome at group events, which are all free of charge.

Our regular illustrated newsletter contains articles on a wide range of mill topics as well as mill news and details of events.

Suffolk Mills Group comments on planning applications where they are felt to prejudice the proper conservation of a mill and its machinery. Our membership includes people with wide experience of restoring, maintaining and working old mills who can offer free advice to mill owners about repairs. We can recommend suitable specialist firms for mill repairs.

Several members actively involved in restoring or conserving mills welcome assistance and this work allows other members hands-on experience of mill restoration. In this way Suffolk Mills Group members have restored the windmills at Thelnetham and Stanton, as well as carrying out holding operations on a number of other mills where full restoration is not possible.

Suffolk Mills Group has probably the largest collection of historical, technical information and illustrations of Suffolk mills in the Country which is freely made available to other researchers. Several members continue the recording and research work, adding to the Suffolk Mills Archive.

Suffolk is fortunate to possess some of the Country’s finest mills. By joining Suffolk Mills Group and supporting our work you will be making a contribution to the survival of these beautiful buildings for future generations to enjoy.