Blown away by Sandwich’s response to windmill damages

The response to a fundraiser set up on behalf of the White Mill in Sandwich is telling of the generous and kind-spirited nature of its residents, as well as its emphasis on preserving history.

During the month of January, we braced for the arrival of Storm Brendan, and with it came heavy downpours and extreme winds topping a dangerous 80mph battering towns up and down the country.

Whilst most places remained standing and unfazed, the White Mill Rural Heritage Centre took a thrashing from the storm and volunteers were left to pick up the pieces.

Set up by Kate Coles after the devastation on behalf of the Centre, the fundraiser is hoping to raise £2,000 and at the time of writing the page has raised an incredible £1,070.

The page reads as follows:

“We care for an 18th century windmill, miller’s cottage and rural heritage museum. The mill was built in 1760 and still has its original workings. Our long-term project is to fully restore the mill to working order and develop a new visitor centre.

“Our volunteers have been working tirelessly on the windmill’s cap, carefully restoring its internal workings and structure.

“Storm Brendan left its mark destroying the cap’s shelter, damaging several parts of the restoration, the mill itself plus the roof of the wheelwrights and gallery.

“We have managed to clear the damage and work on the cap will start again next week. It’s set us back, but it hasn’t stopped us continuing to restore this beautiful windmill.

“The target we have set is so that we can get a company to repair the damage to the roof of the wheelwrights and the gallery, allowing our wonderful volunteers to focus on the restoration. We need to get these repairs done quickly as every time it rains more damage is done to the museum’s structure and its displays.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and who has supported us in the past. Please do visit the museum in the future and see how your donation has helped protect this treasure of a museum.”

If you would like to make an impactful donation to this historical windmill and its irreplaceable team of volunteers please make your way to ‘White Mill Sandwich – Rebuilding after Brendan’ on GoFundMe today.

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