Built in 1971 for the adjacent Blenheim Gardens housing estate and named after the neighbouring Ashby’s Mill, The Windmill went through various phases of being a bar that attracted locals, bikers, the Irish community and, by the end of the 90’s, started hosting DJs, poetry sessions and, occasionally, live bands. Around 2002 its focus stably shifted onto live music.
Early gigs included a semi-secret double bill of Calexico and Kurt Wagner (of Lambchop) followed by a gig by The 5678s, just after they had appeared as the house band in Quentin Tarantino‘s Kill Bill: Volume 2. More recently, The Vaccines made a name for themselves starting out at the venue. Some years ago I was basically the only punter at a magnificent gig of Karate‘s Geoff Farina and Codeine‘s Chris Brokaw I’ll never forget.
A Rottweiler dog living on the roof of the venue (known as “Roof Dog“) became the Windmill’s mascot, until its death in August 2015. A German shepherd called Lucky recently took his place.
Address: 22 Blenheim Gardens, London SW2 1XN
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