Happiness is a windmill home - David and Jo Bent on a mission to save Lincolnshire's historic mills, one sail at a time.

The Sibsey Trader Windmill in Lincolnshire stands as a proud monument to the ingenuity of Victorian engineering. Built in 1877, it was producing animal feed under the tenure of miller Tommy Ward until he died in 1953. In the 1960s it was lucky enough to be identified as one of 12 mills in the country to be preserved by the then Ministry of Works.

In the 1970s restoration work started, and in 1993, when Tony Francis visited for Heart of the Country, the mill was owned by English Heritage and was being run by David and Jo Bent. The couple lovingly operate the sails and gears as they were originally intended - to grind flour, not as a heritage project, but as a proper working mill. True windmill enthusiasts, David and Jo are also hoping to renovate another windmill in the county, which just happens to be situated at the bottom of their own garden in the village of Swineshead.

Sibsey Trader Windmill is still owned by English Heritage. It was damaged during gales in 2018 and restoration started in 2020. A brand new cap and fantail were installed in July 2022.