We built this windmill on Friday the 13th (Dec 1996) – an easy date to remember and not just for the obvious reason.

It was the culmination of a dogged five year battle, against the planners, the grid company and some rather nutty locals.

OK wind energy was a brand new idea back then. And to most people it was a bit ‘hippy’. But oh my god the crazy claims they came up with - it would kill a thousand birds a year, ruin TV signals, wreck house prices, interfere with pacemakers and turn milk sour. OK we made the last one up, but not the rest….

It’s been working day and night since then, proving itself and proving the viability of wind energy.

In early 2008 it was damaged in a storm, and we took the chance to refit the top parts. We made a short video of it you can see here.

Although we’ve tried a few times to build more here in Stroud, we’ve not been able to. As Climate Change and the energy crisis begin to bite, we expect that to change.