The windmill that became a consecrated church

In 1880, Reigate Heath Windmill's roundhouse was transformed into a chapel for St Mary's Parish Church

At first glance, it looks like a standard windmill, perched on the edge of the heath in Surrey.

But the Reigate Heath Windmill is much more – a feat of engineering preserved over centuries, believed to be the world's only windmill that is also a consecrated church.

Fenella Whinney, from the Reigate and Redhill Civic Society, is in no doubt that the Grade II listed post mill is "very special".

"As it's so small and intimate, it's almost more special than perhaps going to a big cathedral," she said.

'Something fundamental'

Built in about 1765, the Reigate Heath Windmill was originally used to grind corn and was last worked by wind in April 1862.

Fewer than two decades later, the mill's roundhouse was transformed into a chapel for St Mary's Parish Church in Reigate.

The first service was held on 14 September 1880, and in the present day, it operates as a consecrated church known as the St Cross Chapel.

Ms Whinney said she felt "a sense of peace" when she steps into the roundhouse, where monthly summer services have been held since 1965.

While now serving an entirely different purpose, Ms Whinney believes the mill's past industry lives within its walls.

She said: "I think our historic past is essential. Can't you feel the presence of the past in the windmill?

"You can almost feel the people - they were making the bread; they were making the substance of life. There's something fundamental about a windmill."

Casting her mind back to the time of transformation, Ms Whinney said she could see the appeal of creating a religious space.

"One really wonders what sort of motivation there was for the farmer," she said.

"Religion was such an important part of their life. There was no television, and not everybody could read and write, so to come here, on top of the hill, they would have a feeling of their own past and their own future."

Since 1965, monthly summer services have been held inside the mill

The windmill has weathered broken sails, wartime damage and decades of wear.

Ownership passed to Reigate Golf Club in 1900, and later to Reigate Borough Council in 1962, which undertook a major restoration, including fitting new sails.

To this day, there is an audible and "atmospheric" creaking of the wood, and sails that are routinely tested by "high, high winds", Ms Whinney said.

But thanks to community care and restoration efforts, the windmill remains a cherished and "unique" landmark.

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