Broad Eye Windmill

The Broad Eye Windmill is one of the landmarks of Stafford, though these days it is home to a radio station and the sails have long been removed. The windmill was built in the early 1800s in order to help provide flour for the population of the town which was rising fast. The windmill is the highest in the Midlands though only the upper floors were used for flour production.

The original sails were augmented by a steam engine in 1835 and production continued until 1886 with the sails removed in 1897. New transport links meant flour could be bought into the town more cheaply than the windmill could provide plus people wanted finer grade flour which the windmill could not provide. In the 20th century the windmill was used as a shop and for storage but eventually lay derelict. It became a listed building and was restored in the 1960s. Since 2011 it has been the home of Stafford Radio, there is the hope also that a heritage centre can be set up in the windmill.