The Windmill Hotel is the only listed building on the market place, the present building dates from the late 18th century but there has been an inn of this site for several centuries. In the early 18th century, the Windmill Hotel not only housed travellers and visitors but also held the Magistrates Court and was a civic centre for the town.

In 1785 the first Lincolnshire Stuff Ball was held in the hotel. The popularity of this masked Ball became so great that after five years it had to be transferred to the Assembly Rooms at Lincoln. In 1860 the Windmill Inn was sold by the Well Estate, to which it had belonged for six centuries, several structural changes were made and it was renamed The Windmill Hotel.

Thomas Paine. Writer and editor.

The Windmill Hotel was used by Customs and Excise officials including Thomas Paine who worked from an upstairs office (today Room 105). In 1774 Paine emigrated to America where he became an influential writer and editor. His two greatest books "The Rights of Man" and "The Age of Reason" continue to be published today. Highly regarded in America for his involvement in the formation of the constitution, Paine is credited with the conception of the name 'United States of America'. >>> More information

Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) Christian leader and poet born in Alford >>> More information

Alford Market in Lincolnshire >>> More information
200 years ago, Alford was the thriving centre of the smuggling trade in East Lincolnshire. Today it is an attractive town which has its own charm.