PHOEBE Langtry was a remarkably independent, strong minded Hampshire woman whose legacy to the county still remains standing proud almost 200 years later.

In 1813, according to the history books, Phoebe decided something had to be done about replacing the original village windmill which had been milling local grain for almost half a century.

Today Bursledon Windmill remains a lasting memorial to Phoebe’s determined spirit, but there was a time when this unique structure could have been lost forever but for the efforts of a dedicated band of experts and enthusiasts who secured the building’s future.

Hampshire can now boast that Bursledon Windmill is one of the county’s historical treasures, giving today’s generations a fascinating insight into what village life was like in past centuries.

It took the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust 13 years of hard, committed work to restore the windmill using the traditional skills of craftsmen.

Local archives show the first windmill was built during 1766-7 by a William Fry on a “barren heath called Freehill’’, thought to be not far from the present site.

Fry built the mill “at his own expense for the benefit of the neighbourhood where such a convenience is much wanted”.

In the years that followed the windmill was well used and was operated by a series of millers until 1787 when William Langtry and his wife Phoebe took over the building.

By 1813, Phoebe had taken it upon herself to replace the ageing tower and sails with a brand new structure.

It seems William took no part in the project as legal papers drawn up stated the scheme was “independent of any husband”.

In October, 1814, Phoebe mortgaged the windmill for £800 for six years.

When the repayment became due, she did not redeem it, possibly because of the depression in agriculture that lasted from 1812 to the early 1820s.

So in May, 1820 the mill, house, piggeries and other outbuildings were offered for sale and records suggest that for most of the rest of the century, the five-storey windmill remained unchanged.

However, by 1872 Bursledon was to see its last miller arrive in the village when George Gosling, originally from Upham, together with his wife and two children, moved in.

A Methodist lay preacher, Gosling, who had five more children over the years, had a reputation for kindness and allowed the local poor to mill their grain free of charge.

A long decline in agriculture and the need for major building work meant the windmill fell into disrepair and it was not until the end of the 1970s that restoration gathered pace to save the building.

By May, 1990 the windmill once again showed off a complete set of sails and preparations were well advanced to open the building to the public.

Finally, in May, 1991 the windmill was opened to the public for the first time with pupils from Bursledon Junior School its first visitors.