Monument record MDR11379 - Windmill (site of), Chain Lane, Littleover, Derby

An archaeological desk-based assessment was carried out by Birmingham University Field Archaeology Unit in January 2003, in advance of housing development by Michael Goodall Quality Homes, on land at the corner of Chain Lane and Pastures Hill, Littleover (SK325420). The Domesday Book states that there were two mills in the village in 1087, but the location of these two sites is unknown. The Tithe Map of 1850 shows a square building within the proposed development area, which the accompanying Award lists as a mill. The site of the mill probably adjoins, or lies within, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, in an area containing mature trees … or possibly within the area of the former hotel car park. The windmill within the proposed development area certainly pre-dates 1721 as it appears in the Harpur Inventory of that date. (1) In 'Littleover and its Church' by A B Scott, published 1916, the author states that 'there was a windmill at one time in the field on the west side of Chain Lane, between the lane and the clump of beech trees, in that part of the field called Mill Close'. The area described was formerly occupied by the Forte Crest Hotel. It is situated on an area of rising ground, and would have been an excellent position for a windmill to be built. It may be that the mill dates back to medieval times. (2)