Welcome to the website of the multi award winning Swannington Heritage Trust
We have a fabulous group of volunteers who work fantastically hard to achieve amazing things.
Swannington has a wonderful heritage of coal mining, horse drawn tramways, the first steam railway in the English midlands, modern day woodlands as part of the national forest and fascinating families with intriguing histories.
Swannington Heritage Trust owns Hough Mill in Swannington, a restored corn mill built around 1790, as well as 14 acres of former coal mining and railway sites that are managed as woodlands and acid grass heathland. The mill is open on summer Sundays and for events, Trust sites are open 6am to midnight and are accessible via a network of public footpaths.
Details of events and volunteer sessions are on the diary page.
The black and white sketch of the mill was drawn by Karl Salsbury Wood on the 26th December 1932. He lived in Gainsborough and cycled thousands of miles sketching windmills. He drew three Leicestershire windmills on Christmas Eve and probably stayed with his family for Christmas. Hough Mill is one of three windmills he drew on his return journey.
Events Diary – July 2025
Special Events
- Hough Mill Open – 2-5pm Sundays 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
Regular Events
- Land Management Volunteers – Wednesdays – 9am-1pm
- Land Management Volunteers – Fridays – 9am-1pm
- Archive Group – Cataloguing the history of Swannington – 7-9pm at the village hall alternate Mondays
- Excavation of Alabama Engine House and Califat Miners Cottages – 9.30am-1pm 2nd Tuesday, led by our partners in Leicestershire Industrial History Society
What our visitors say
"...Lovely spot great to learn about our local history...."Facebook
"...Restored windmill. Run by volunteers who offer a great deal of knowledge about local history. Definitely worth a visit...."Google Reviews
"...Lovely walk with family and dog, adventure for the kids..."Google Reviews
"...Industrial heritage site run entirely by volunteers. They also maintain an inclined plane nearby...."Google Reviews
We love sharing photos that people send to us, many thanks to Gary Hawthorne for these fabulous photos. More public provided photos are in our Community Gallery do have a look.