The Stott family's ambitious conversion of a town windmill is coming along nicely
The Stott family's ambitious conversion of a town windmill is coming along nicely
We first visited the mill conversion being masterminded by James and Rebecca Stott at the beginning of April.
On the outskirts of Sudbury, and just off Melford Road, the windmill is tucked away by trees but still commands impressive views of the town’s meadows as well as Ballingdon Hill and the Suffolk/Essex border.
James can report that work is ahead of schedule and the couple and their young children hope to be living in the mill by the end of the summer.
“Basically the builders have been working from the top of the mill down, and the fine weather has meant there have been no hold-ups, “ said James who runs Abbeygate Wealth Management, a west Suffolk based company.
“Brickwork has been restitched and repointed, cladding has been replaced and windows refurbished. The electrics are in and the layout of the top floor (the master bedroom) is how we want it with a doorway now cut into one of the walls.” The couple want the living space throughout Highfield Mill to be open plan with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, plus a kitchen, dining area and front room. Back at the start of April it wasn’t easy to see what was coming up in the garden.
“In recent weeks we have been able to redefine the flowerbeds and see what was coming through plant-wise, said James. “We also now have a terrace area next to the mill.”
The mill was originally three stories higher than it is now with the blades pointing towards the next door cottage. It has been the family’s home while the redevelopment work has been going on.
