“In an age when we are reminded that innovation and design are key to a critical need to reduce the effects of climate change, it is only right that we are afforded the ability to look back to an age when we were undoubted leaders in such innovation. The repair and preservation of Bourn Mill today will ensure that privilege for generations to come.”  Lord Norman Foster 

Please help us to save this building because:

- it is the oldest windmill in the UK as the main post dates back to 1513 and one of the few remaining working post mills

- Lord Norman Foster studied the mill as a student and its design has inspired some of the country's best known buildings

- it is loved and valued by local communities

Please donate today to help save Bourn Windmill for future generations.                                                                                  

In 2020 investigations into the structural integrity of Bourn Windmill, a proud feature of the historic Cambridgeshire landscape, a designated Ancient Monument and Grade 1 listed building, showed that it needed urgent repairs to prevent its collapse as the beams that support the mill have become rotten. 

The first phase of this project has been to prevent the mill from collapsing by using scaffolding and also to employ a team of conservation professionals to work out how to repair the mill, given that the wooden beams that support it will need to be replaced. We are very grateful to Historic England for an emergency grant of £23,500 towards the first phase costs in addition to an incredible £22,000 gifted from more than 150 passionate donors.

The mill is now protected by scaffolding and the next stage of the project is to carry out the repairs and to re-open the windmill. The cost of this work will be more than £180,000 most of which has been generously met by grants from Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England but we still need to raise a further £7,500 from public support. This means that our total fundraising target from donations is now £30,000.

Every gift makes a difference to this unique and important piece of our heritage so please give what you can. 

The mill is closed and Historic England has placed it on the Heritage at Risk Register, highlighting both the importance of the building and severity of the deterioration. Read more