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Welcome to the History of the Windmill
The mill was built for William Huckle in 1828.
The 1841 Tithe map shows that the mill was owned by Benjamin How and let to a John Gleaves.Between 1850 and 1870 Joseph Gleaves was the miller followed by William Huckle Gleaves.
In the 1880's steam power was introduced.
In 1892 the mill was purchased by Charles Cattell and his son, Raymond Cattell, continued the business after his father's death in 1943.During the 1930's sail power was reduced from 4 sails to 2 sails and by the late 1940's the sails came to a standstill as vital repair work was required.
In 1956 Graham Wilson, of Over Mill, undertook certain repairs to the back of the two remaining sails and the mill began working again. However, by 1959 the County Council had withdrawn their interest in the preservation due to the poor condition of the main timber structures and the mill was condemned.
Replacement of the cant posts and repairs to the weather-boarding were carried out by Graham Wilson during the 1960s But the mill ceased to work in 1962
In 1979 lightening struck one of the two remaining sails. Firemen removed approximately a third of one of the sails.In 1979 Wally Barton, Ray Cattell's son-in-law and Graham Wilson began work on the first stage of restoring the mill.
£500 was granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council for weather-proofing in 1980. A further £1500 in 1982 was given for the completion of the replacement of the cant posts and weather-boarding. The mill was now structurally safe.
Students from the Cambridgeshire College of Further Education made 200 applewood teeth for one of the wheels. A £4,500 grant was made by South Cambridgeshire District Council in 1986 to remove the cap, fantail and remaining sails by crane to ground level.
The cap was completely restored with new timbers and coated with fibreglass and on 18 th August, 1989 it was replaced. In 1992 Ray Cattell died and the mill passed to his daughter, Avis and son-in-law, Wally Barton. Sadly, Avis died in 1993.
Cattell's Mill was then put up for sale and left untended until 1997 when it was purchased by Richard and Sarah Cowley.
In 1998 the area surrounding the mill was cleared, boarding removed from the windows and in 1999 work started, with the assistance and support of Chris Wilson, on the construction of the sails. The first set of sails were re-instated on 7 th May, 1999.
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