The future of a historic windmill in Great Gransden has been secured thanks to a grant worth thousands of pounds.

Repair work at Great Gransden Windmill – which is owned by Cambridgeshire County Council – is under way thanks to a £75,000 grant from the WREN Heritage Fund and a £17,000 grant from Historic England.

The post mill is, according to the county council, the oldest remaining mill of its type in England, and is a scheduled monument.

The restoration work will see specialist conservators remove and redress the millstones, replace major timbers and the external timber cladding.

The mill has timbers dating from the 17th century, but hasn’t worked since before the First World War, when the last millwright was killed on the western front.

Quinton Carroll, historic environment team manager at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “Local residents can enjoy this scheduled monument, the oldest remaining post mill in England, for years to come thanks to this restoration project. “The last works took place in the 1970s and 1980s, and we will now make crucial repairs to the sails and the structure. The project is scheduled to be completed by Christmas and it is hoped that the mill will be passed from the county council to the care of a local trust.”