Historic site in 'precarious' state and needs help to keep going

The site dates back well over 200 years and is now facing ‘difficult times’

The trustees of a historic Nottingham site says its finances are now in a ‘precarious’ state and it will need help to stay open whilst essential repair works are carried out.

The £760,000 programme of repairs to the Green’s Windmill in Sneinton started in November 2025 and, although the project is set to be complete next Easter, those running the site say they are now facing “difficult times”.

The mill was built in 1807 by a Sneinton baker, Mr Green, and it was the largest and most powerful of Nottingham’s windmills at that time.

Ownership eventually passed to Mr Green’s son, George Green, who would go on to be a revolutionary mathematician and someone dubbed by Albert Einstein as being 20 years ahead of his time.

The ceasing of work at the windmill in 1862 led to the site being abandoned until 1919 and a further period of abandonment followed between 1947 and 1979 after a devastating fire.

Nottingham City Council now owns the site and, since 2012, it has been run by the Green’s Windmill Trust, responsible for the mill itself and the science centre exploring the work and legacy of George Green.

The sails at the mill were removed in 2022 because of their deteriorating condition and the repair programme beginning in November 2025 will involve them being fully restored.

Yet the nature of the work means the whole windmill is closed to the public, and even staff at the site, whilst the repairs are carried out.

Trustees say the windmill closure has meant an ‘inevitable’ decline in footfall, something which poses a serious financial challenge given that the trust needs to raise £1,000 every week to stay open.

This has become much harder with fewer visitors and the latest newsletter from the Green’s Windmill Trust says: “While we will be excited to see the sails turn once again, the current repair work has inevitably led to a reduction in the number of people visiting us.

“This has had a negative effect on our income. Added to that, a rise in the costs of everything means that our finances are in a precarious position.”

Denny Plowman, the treasurer and one of the trustees at the Green’s Windmill Trust, told Nottinghamshire Live: “Costs are going up eye-wateringly, even with things like our grant funding and the cost of applications.

“Of course, charities are all chasing the same pots of money, so it’s difficult times.

“We’ve been here for 14 years and our finances have gone up and gone down, it’s quite erratic. Just at the moment, we’re in a little bit of a downturn.”

Heritage officer Jamie Duff said: “I think we always expected to see a decline in footfall inevitably because the windmill is closed, but we wanted to keep the rest of the site open for our community and the wider Nottingham area.

“We still have the education side of the science centre, we have had quite a few school groups visit, we still have a programme of events and the community garden is open and it’s so important to have green spaces like that – especially in Sneinton.

“But the flipside is that we have had reduced visitors and that inevitably affects the finances, so we’re getting to a point where it’s becoming really difficult.”

People can support the site during its repair work by paying a visit to its award-winning community garden or its science centre, as well as supporting its programme of events across the year.

Upcoming events include a picnic in the park on July 12, the annual summer community fun day at the Green’s Mill, which will include live acoustic music and children’s activities.

People can also become members of the trust for just £30 a year, or make one-off donations using this link.

Mr Duff says the trust may well end up becoming more reliant than usual on goodwill to keep going during this period.

Getting enough support to stay afloat means visitors would be able to head into the historic windmill once again and Mr Plowman added: “We’re really excited about getting the windmill going again.

“Because of the nature of the work, the windmill is closed off even to us, so we’re desperate to have a look inside.”