Lacey Green Windmill

* NB - These pages contain many photos and could take a while to download on a slow internet connection.

WEBSITE MAP: You may be able to find a specific page by looking at our Website Map page.

PUBLICITY: If you are able to help us with any publicity, such as displaying a poster, please look at our Publicity page.

Lacey Green windmill stands on the escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, near Princes Risborough and halfway between High Wycombe and Aylesbury. Since 1971 it has been restored back to working order by members of The Chiltern Society. The 1970 picture below shows the sad condition it had reached. It has been restored to preserve its unique wooden machinery, which probably dates from around 1650, making this the oldest smock windmill in the country.

All the restoration work has been done by volunteers, led by Christopher Wallis, who devised the methods by which the collapsing mill could be straightened, strengthened and made watertight to survive into the future.

2013 OPENING TIMES

In 2013, the windmill will be open to the public from 2 pm to 5 pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Sunday 5th May to Sunday 29th September.

Bank Holiday Open Days: Mon 6 & 27 May, Mon 26 Aug (all 2-5).

Admission Charges for 2013: Adult £2.00, Child (5 to 15) £1.00.

For National Mills Weekend we will be open on Sun 12th May only (from 11-5).

We will have the sails turning, weather permitting. NOW SEE NOTE BELOW

Also on Sunday 12th May we will be joined by:

Loosley Row and Lacey Green Horticultural Society (Plant and Produce Stall)

Drovers Hill Farm (Local Organic Apple Juice)

For further details about visiting the mill, such as access, facilities, location, and travelling,

please look at the Information for Visitors page.

As stated above, Lacey Green Windmill will be open on the Sunday only. A list showing other mills open in Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties is available as a pdf to download by clicking here

At the time of writing, 8 pm on Saturday 11th May, the weather forecast for Sunday 12th May is not good. A wind of 14 mph with gusts of 28 mph (Force 6) is forecast from 10 am to 1 pm. Heavy rain is forecast from 2 pm until 7 pm. It has therefore been decided, for the safety of the windmill, and those working on it, that we would be unwise to fit the sailcloths. We may be able to let the wind turn the sails without the sailcloths.

People might not imagine there would be much connection between a Buckinghamshire windmill and the raid by 617 Squadron on 16-17 May 1943. Elsewhere on this website you can read that it was Christopher Wallis who led the restoration of Lacey Green windmill from 1971. You can also read that Christopher's father was Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, inventor of the revolutionary bouncing bombs used to smash the Ruhr dams. A lot of publicity about the anniversary is planned including a dedicated BBC2 television programme on 16 May 2013. The news coverage will also strongly feature the sole British survivor who took part in the raid, Johnny Johnson. At the age of 21, he was a bomb-aimer in the nose of one of the Avro Lancaster bombers.

In 2010, I (Michael Hardy) was pleased to meet Johnny Johnson, and he told me that in meetings before the 1943 raid he had met Barnes Wallis, and had even met the young Christopher Wallis, then 8 years old. Johnny Johnson had remembered Christopher and followed his career, knowing well that his interest and enthusiasm for restoring Lacey Green Windmill had led him on to a career working with historic buildings and particularly mills. Johnny had been sad to hear of Christopher's death in 2006, so when attending a meeting nearby in 2010 he asked if he could go and have a look at Lacey Green Windmill. I was naturally pleased to help, and below you can see a photo of Johnny Johnson standing outside the windmill, on National Mills Day, 9th May 2010.

We were open from 2 -5 on Sunday 3rd June and also the two Bank Holidays on Monday 4th June, and Tuesday 5th June. We dressed the windmill with bunting on the sails, as well as some Union Jacks, but were not able to park the sails in the traditional celebratory way that we did for the Royal Wedding last year (see below).

As usual, Lacey Green Windmill was only open on the Sunday (13th May), from 11 am to 5 pm. We had a good breeze in the afternoon, turning the sails at a good speed with just two sailcloths fitted. Our village Horticultural Society had their usual plant and produce stall close to the windmill, and this year we also had a local producer of organic apple juice join us, offering tasting of their different varieties and selling juice by the bottle. You can read more about their enterprise at www.drovershillfarm.co.uk

Great Haseley windmill stands near the A329 to the SW of Thame in Oxfordshire and just a mile to the SW of Junction 7 of the M40. It was open on Saturday 12th May from 13.00 to 17.00. The mill has a website but more information can actually be found on a blog written by one of the restoration team.

Chinnor windmill was open on Sunday 13th May from 12.30 to 17.00. See their blog

National Mills Weekend was on the 14th and 15th May in 2011. As always, Lacey Green Windmill was only open on the Sunday (15th May), but our opening hours were extended from 11 am to 5 pm. The wind on the day proved rather too variable, you can read a report on the day at NMW - 2011

Great Haseley windmill is a familiar site to people travelling on the A329 to the SW of Thame in Oxfordshire. The tower mill (which probably dates from the 18th century) stands in a field just a mile to the SW of Junction 7 of the M40. The Great Haseley Windmill Trust was formed in 2005, and work started on restoring the windmill in July 2009. The mill was open to the public on Sunday 15th May 2011.

The mill has a website but more information can actually be found on a blog written by one of the restoration team.

As prominent features in the landscape, windmills would often be used to recognise national events by being "dressed" in a similar way to a boat being "dressed" with flags and bunting. To mark the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (who immediately became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge), the sails of Lacey Green Windmill were dressed for the day, which was rather a grey one at Lacey Green.

The windmill's sails were parked in the position that traditionally notes a happy occasion, which is just before the ascending sail has reached the upright position. The top sail just starting to descend on the other side is a position to denote a sorrowful occasion. However, I rather suspect that such fine detail was not realised by many of the people who may have seen the bunting flapping in the strong breeze.

In June and July 2010 a new electricity supply was run to the windmill. The windmill has been completely rewired and new lighting has been installed. Enclosed bulkhead fittings have been used which are all fitted with energy saving light bulbs. Energy Saving Floodlights have also been installed to light the interior of the cap, which is now easier to see, particularly on dull days. Despite their now being 36 light fittings within the windmill, the total power consumption is less than 450 watts.

Christopher Wallis (born 1935, died 2006)

Christopher Wallis died on 10th May 2006 after a short illness. Lacey Green Windmill only stands today because of his passion for historic buildings, and mills in particular. Since 1971 he was the driving force behind the many volunteers that between them gave thousands of hours of their time to restore the windmill.

After starting the restoration at Lacey Green, Christopher left his work as a Civil Engineer. He then devoted his engineering and carpentry skills to restoring many other historic buildings across the country.

His everlasting enthusiasm has been instrumental in encouraging others to take up restoration work. The mere fact of hearing Christopher's strong opinions, or seeing the work that he has achieved, has led many more people to appreciate the vital importance of preserving historic buildings in our landscape.

This photograph shows Christopher Wallis at an event in October 2005 which marked the 40th Anniversary of the founding of The Chiltern Society at The Guildhall in High Wycombe. The area of the Chiltern Hills was always a special place to Christopher, where he and his wife Barbara chose to live and bring up their family.

Please click here to read an obituary to Christopher Wallis.

Christopher Wallis Memorial at the Chiltern Open Air Museum

The Christopher Wallis Collection of Timber Joints has been established in the Northolt Barn at the Chilten Open Air Museum. They have been made by Tim Hallewell, a carpenter and furniture maker. They have been designed to be demountable so they can be handled and assembled by visitors.

For more details of the Chiltern Open Air Museum, see their website:

www.coam.org.uk (set to open in new window or tab)


1910	1970	1986