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Friday, March 16, 2024

Yorkshire's windmill house sets sale

While many would agree home buyers are spoiled for choice in Yorkshire, there's always someone after something completely different. And they don't come much more unusual than this property at Tollerton, near York.

The 'Windmill House' is a former working mill converted into a feature home. Its history is so rich that if the walls could talk, they'd have stories of village life going back almost 200 years.

Hunters Property Group has just put the mill and its half acre of surrounding gardens up for sale with a guide price of £500,000. But the York-based property agents are connected to the home in more ways than one. Andy Galloway is from Hunters' Easingwold office; his great-grandfather used to grind corn at the mill, and as a boy it was Andy's playground.

"It was in my mum's family for years and I can remember playing there when I was little. My grandad sold it and he and the present owners became friends and my uncle still lives in the farm next door, so I know it really well," said Andy.

"It's a unique property and ideal for anyone who is looking for something a bit quirky."

For the last 26 years the mill has been the home of David and Gabrielle Moran, who recently decided to pass it on to the next 'caretakers'.

Built in 1815, the mill was converted to a home in the early 1960s. It is thought to have in use until 1942, when its wooden, cloth-coated sails were damaged in a gale and deemed unsafe.

"The top floor is about 80ft high and the views are fantastic," says Mr Moran. "The other thing that people like about this place is the solitude - we are on the edge of the village and it's so lovely and quiet."

While the outbuildings are now incorporated into the central hub of the home, the main dining room is in the ground floor of the windmill itself, featuring some original mill machinery to link its past and present. The first two upper floors are bedrooms and the top floor has been dubbed a 'panorama room'. It boasts incredible 360-degree views across Menwith, the White Horse at Kilburn and York Minster, which is 10 miles away.

According to Whitby- based architectural historian and author Alan Whitworth there are around 150 windmills in Yorkshire, but only three have sails.

These are now a mix of houses, restaurants and some are derelict. With interest in the Windmill House already coming in, Hunters believes the opportunity to own one of them is unlikely to come around again any time soon.

"The property is a unique, stunning piece of history and is undoubtedly unlike any other property you will see in the area," said Andy. "It's clearly an opportunity not to be missed."