Moulton Mill’s “Blue Mill Project” has been awarded £15,000 Heritage Lottery Fund cash for an exciting venture focusing on the origins of woad.
The plant was once grown as a source of blue dye.
The project is expected to enhance the visitor experience at Moulton Mill and it involves volunteers as well as artists Carol Parker and Angela Daymond.
The mill’s project manager, Janet Prescott, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident the project will raise the awareness of woad production and its importance in shaping the fens and its impact on those families associated with it.”
Vanessa Harbar, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: “Moulton Windmill is a gem of the Lincolnshire countryside, attracting visitors with its unusual history.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund is a long-term supporter of the windmill, having funded its original restoration, and this new investment will help better tell the important story of the woad industry to visitors.”
Moulton Windmill was built in 1822 and is the tallest working windmill in the UK standing at over 100ft to the top of the cap.
It attracts more than 20,000 visitors a year and is manned entirely by volunteers.
The Blue Mill project will give visitors a better insight into the social and economic history of the Fens as well as preserving valuable skills that would otherwise be lost.