Wimbledon's skyline will today lose an iconic landmark when the sails of the windmill are temporarily removed for restoration.

Aug 3: Windmill sail smashes through Wimbledon Common museum roof

A crane is currently on Wimbledon Common and the area around the Windmill Museum has been cordoned off while mechanics remove the two remaining sails after the third one dramatically dropped off nine days ago.

Wimbledon Times:

On Sunday evening, August 2, the sail smashed through the roof of the first floor of the museum, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Fortunately no-one was injured and a row of cabinets containing historic documents about the Grade-II listed windmill were not damaged.

The collapse was caused by water seeping into the stop block via a large bolt drilled in to support the sails.

A millwright, one of the country's few remaining windmill experts, is expected to be at the museum for most of today with a crane to take down the remaining windmill sails for restoration work.

A Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators spokeswoman said: "The windmill is an integral part of the environment and with all three sails removed it will be like something has been lost from the skyline."

She said the atmosphere was "buzzing" but "emotional" on the Common this morning.

The Conservators, who own the Windmill Museum, had already put aside £50,000 in April to restore water damage to the first floor roof of the windmill.

But the work has been temporarily suspended since the sail collapsed.

It is not yet known exactly how much money will be needed to restore the windmill, but the Conservators said they are likely to launch a fundraising appeal to help repair the building.

Once the sails are removed, the millwright will take them to his West Sussex workshop where they will be assessed and reconfigured to safeguard them against future water damage.

He will also create a waterproof stop block.

The museum will be closed while the work is completed. However, trustees are keen to re-open it in time for Open House London in September, even if the sails have not yet been replaced.

The windmill was built in 1817 by carpenter Charles March as a corn mill. It was converted into cottages in the 1860s, when Earl Spencer, the Lord of the Manor of Wimbledon, bought a section of the Common.

In 1975 it was restored by architect and museum trustee Norman Plastow after a public appeal was launched to raise £20,000.

It has been a museum since 1976, displaying different types of windmill and an extensive collection of woodworking tools.