A history of Broad Eye Windmill, Stafford (abridged version)
cont..
A new lease of life
In the early 1900s, James Marsh of Espley House, Newport Road, used the ground and lower floors for the production of aerated mineral water. In 1901 the business was sold to Henry Musgrove, who continued to trade under the name James Marsh & Co until 1903 when the name was changed to Marsh & Co. When Musgrove went bankrupt in 1905 another firm took over the business trading under the name H.H.B. Kent; this company ceased trading in 1906.
Joseph Chaplain and Son, tenants of James Wright, used the bakery, stable and wagon shed from 1902 to 1919. In August 1905, ownership of the mill passed to Mr Chaplain who redeemed the mortgage in 1907.
In 1919, a local farmer, Charles Brassington Cantrill bought the lease. He converted the lower part of the tower into a shop with the entrance at street level. Parts of some lower floors were removed and the upper floors sealed off. The upper doors and windows would have been secured and boarded up from the inside. Very little maintenance is likely to have been carried out above first floor level after this date.
The first occupiers were Brandon Bros, fruiterer and greengrocer.
Very little is known about them. They did not appear to have a sub-tenancy agreement and there is no record of them paying rates on the shop. They lived in Rugby and travelled daily to Birmingham Wholesale Market to buy produce to sell in the shop and, one assumes, returned to Rugby each night. There being no trading records, it is assumed the business did not survive very long. A J.J. Mellor seems to have followed but it is not known what they traded in, or precisely when.From the early 1920s until 1931 it was a butcher's shop trading under the name of George Foster. In 1931 the business was sold to Percy Palmer who kept a general stores. His business thrived so, in 1932, he moved to larger premises at 9 Castle Hill, (currently occupied by Windmill Antiques) and opened shops in Doxey and Common Road too. The tenancy of the mill shop was taken over by John Burrows, a shoe repairer; there he remained until the outbreak of the World War Two during which time the building fell into a ruiness state. The precise date on which he left is unknown.
After that date it is unclear who occupied the windmill. It is known that John Burrows, a cobbler, used part of the premises. There was also a watch repairer, a Mr. Sambrooke (or Mr.Sam Brooke) occupying part of the tower for a while. Evidence of both businesses was found within base of the tower when an archaeological survey was carried out (1996 – 1998).
By early 1940s the tower was in need of urgent repairs; the shingles were falling off the roof letting in the rain. Rot began to set in, some of the upper floors began to disintegrate and fall making the building unsafe. For a while the American Army used the base of the tower as a store, they were camping on land at the side and rear. Shortage of labour during World War II precluded repairs being carried out. The building was allowed to fall into ruin.
On 16th January 1951 the windmill became a Grade II listed building.
The lease remained with the Cantrill family of Coppenhall.
What does the future hold for the windmill
Between 1952 and 1980 numerous proposals were made as to the use to which the building could be put, for example, a scout headquarters, a Royal Naval Association Club, a shop and restaurant and a motorcycle showroom. Most of these suggestions were not pursued when the complexity of the rules and regulations of governing reconstruction became apparent. Being a building of listed status contributed to the difficulties and to the anticipated cost of conservation. Demolishing the windmill was also considered an option.
In the late 1980s Stafford Borough Council began investigating how to preserve this important landmark. Could Mr. Cantrill be persuaded to carry out repairs or should The Borough Council acquire the windmill? The freehold had remained with the council throughout the mill’s life.
In 1990, following a survey by a leading wind and watermills consultant, The Council decided to buy the lease and sub-lease and make the building weather-tight. The Borough Council began this work soon after with the agreement of Mr.Cantrill, the principal leaseholder These transactions and works were completed in May 1993.
There followed a period of public consultation of the future of the building. The Council wished to see the windmill preserved and a community use found for it. Several suggestions were made, e.g. a tourist information centre, a community centre, a museum, a camera obscura, and as a base for the manufacture and sale of craft articles. From the outset it was made clear that the Borough Council did not have the resources to implement any proposals, someone or a group would have to take responsibility for raising the capital and arranging for the work to be carried out and then to run the enterprise. No proposal could proceed without the approval of the Borough Council.
What happened next?
A group known as the Friends of Broad Eye Windmill was formed on 29th February 1996 with the express purpose of restoring the external appearance of the windmill to that which might have been seen in the 1920s and to create a museum and educational resource centre relating to the rich industrial heritage of the town. This suggestion met with Council approval.
The Group would require approval of their feasibility study, business plan and planning approval before they could begin to turn their ideas into reality. On receiving the keys to the building in May 1996, the Group discovered that they would first have to carry out a full archaeological survey. The accumulated rubble in the windmill and around the site would have to be sifted and detailed drawings made of the structure especially the timber work. This survey was completed in December 1998.
The feasibility study, business plan and planning permission were accepted and passed in 1999. Recreating the shop front, phase one, began immediately. This work was completed in March 2003 with the exception of a new signboard. However, before the Group was allowed to carry out further restoration work new conditions were imposed, viz that the Group would have to form a legal entity, either a Trust or a Limited Company. Only after that could the Council give the group a lease, a necessity to securing grant aid.
The Friends of Broad Eye Windmill became Broad Eye Windmill (Stafford), a company limited by guarantee on 10th August 2001. A 10-year lease, renewable with agreement coupled with a one-year service agreement, was agreed between Stafford Borough Council and the Company; this process was completed in May 2002 and in 2005, a new 25 year lease was agreed upon. The terms of these leases stated that a peppercorn rent should be paid. Work on replacing the floor of the former shop area for community use commenced in April 2005. Since that time strenuous efforts have been made to raise the necessary capital and additional time has been devoted to revising the cost of construction.M.Dudley/August 2006
For further information about the Company and its proposals, please contact us by email