A 1720 windmill that's been extensively transformed over time to create a unique and wonderful family home
The Lantern retains many unique features from its former life as a windmill which creates the most charming country home. Annunciata Elwes takes a look.


Set in Acomb village, close to the market town of Hexham and stone’s throw from some of the finest stretches of Hadrian’s Wall, including Sycamore Gap and the Roman forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda, this intriguing property started life as a windmill in about 1720. The property is currently on the market via Finest Properties at a guide price of £1.25 million.
In use until the 1900s, when its sails were removed and additions made as part of its conversion, The Lantern is now a four-bedroom home that has been added to over the years and still has potential for development in the form of a large triple garage with storage on the floor above.
The tower itself contains a sitting room with fireplace, secondary dining room, bedroom and shower room; the master bedroom has an adjoining dressing room and en suite bathroom.
Grounds of nearly three acres are sheltered and prettily landscaped with mature trees, shrubs, outdoor seating areas and a gazebo.
The Lantern is currently on the market via Finest Properties at a guide price of £1.25 million — see more pictures, or enquire with the agent for further details.
Acomb: What you need to know
Location: This small rural village (not to be confused with the other Acomb, near York) is in the south of Northumberland, just over 3 miles from Hexham and approximately 22 miles from Newcastle. There is a train station in Hexham and Corbridge.
Atmosphere: The quaint village is home to a post office, village shop and a pub. The nearby market town of Hexham is home to plenty of artisan shops and restaurants, plus doctors surgeries, leisure facilities and sports clubs.
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Things to do: The countryside that surrounds Acomb is Hadrian's Wall territory and there are plenty of walking trails to explore — particularly the famed Sycamore Gap and the Roman fort sites of Housesteads and Vindolanda. The Northumberland National Park (known as an international Dark Sky Park) is also just on the doorstep, where you can explore the Kielder Observatory and Kielder Skyspace. The city of Newcastle is a bustling, lively place with plenty to keep all ages entertained — from art exhibitions and galleries to numerous bars and restaurants.
Schools: Beauford First School is well renowned, as is The Sele First School which is rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted. Other local options include Acomb First School and St Mary's Catholic First School. For secondary, there is Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Priory School.
See more property for sale in the area.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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Annunciata grew up in the wilds of Lancashire and now lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and an awful pug called Parsley. She’s been floating round the Country Life office for more than a decade, her work winning the Property Magazine of the Year Award in 2022 (Property Press Awards). Before that, she had a two-year stint writing ‘all kinds of fiction’ for The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, worked in internal comms for Country Life’s publisher (which has had many names in recent years but was then called IPC Media), and spent another year researching for a historical biographer, whose then primary focus was Graham Greene and John Henry Newman and whose filing system was a collection of wardrobes and chests of drawers filled with torn scraps of paper. During this time, she regularly gave tours of 17th-century Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, which may or may not have been designed by Inigo Jones, and co-founded a literary, art and music festival, at which Johnny Flynn headlined. When not writing and editing for Country Life, Annunciata is also a director of TIN MAN ART, a contemporary art gallery founded in 2021 by her husband, James Elwes.
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