Cambridgeshire village Swaffham Prior is first to run two windmills
A Cambridgeshire village has become the first in the UK to have two working windmills after a new cap was installed at Smock Tower Mill in Swaffham Prior.
The wooden dome which can swivel around on tracks to follow the direction of the wind was lifted into place last Tuesday.
It stands opposite Foster’s Mill in Swaffham Prior which makes and sells Prior’s Flour.
Once the sails are installed, the mill will be used to generate electricity for the home of owner James and Shell Forsyth.
James said: “It was very exciting seeing the cap put in place on its tracks. I took the measurements to build it four years ago, so I was very relieved to see we had got it right. It’s lovely that our village now has two working windmills and this will be the first traditional windmill in the country to be converted to electricity generation.”
James, who is a boatbuilder, plans to have the sails ready to install by the end of the year. He will then sell any excess energy back to the National Grid and will be running workshops on sustainable energy generation for homeowners.
He said: “I have promised my wife we won’t move house again after this and that I will now put in a new bathroom after spending four years working on the mill.”
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