Wimbledon Windmill Museum
Free museum in a historic windmill on Wimbledon Common, covering windmills and milling, local history and the Scouting movement.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Wimbledon Windmill stands on Wimbledon Common. In 1817 the Roehampton carpenter Charles March was granted a 99-year lease on a plot on the common on condition that he built a corn mill for public use. The mill later passed to the Marsh family, who also owned mills in Kingston, and it stopped working in 1864. It was then converted into homes for six families.
The first floor became a museum in the mid-1970s. A Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 1999 paid for restoring the sails and for extending the museum to the ground floor, so that both floors are now open to visitors.
The exhibits cover windmills and milling, local history and the Scouting movement, and include a room arranged to show living conditions in 1870. The sails are turned on selected weekends. The museum is free to enter and also welcomes pre-booked school visits and group tours.
Highlights
- Historic windmill on Wimbledon Common
- Exhibits on windmills and milling, local history and Scouting
- Room showing home life in 1870
- Sails turning on selected weekends
- Free entry
Permanent exhibition
- Windmills, local history and Scouting – Displays on windmills and milling, local history and the Scouting movement, plus a room showing home life in 1870.
- Founded
- 1976
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Entry is free. Donations are welcome by cash, card or online.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
A wheelchair-accessible toilet is by the windmill entrance and opens with a RADAR key, which can be borrowed from the Rangers' office nearby. Wimbledon Common is not a formally managed park: it has footpaths but also uneven, wet and overgrown areas.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Windmill Road bus stop (route 93)
Bus 93 links Wimbledon and Putney town centres and stops at Windmill Road. The nearest stations are Wimbledon (District line, Tramlink and main line), Putney (main line) and East Putney (District line), each about 1½ miles away, and the walk is uphill.
By car
Free parking
A free car park next to the windmill has space for about 300 cars and can take coaches for school and group visits.
The windmill is at the end of Windmill Road, just off the A219 between Wimbledon and Putney. Look for the white-on-brown sign.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
Windmill Tearooms on the common serve homemade food, and Wimbledon Village has shops, restaurants and cafés.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Pre-arranged group tours and school visits (with education packs) can be booked on weekdays all year through the contact form. Bespoke private tours with experts and travelling talks are also offered. A digital guide is available in the Arts and Culture app; the museum recommends downloading it before the visit because the Wi-Fi signal on the common is weak. |
