Here’s a summary of the construction and history of Bir-id-Deheb Windmill now demolished in Zejtun, Malta:
Historical profile of Bir-id-Deheb Windmill in Zejtun, Malta, the windmill built in 1730 — including its construction, working life, and eventual disappearance.
Quick summary
Bir id-Deheb was a tower (round) windmill in the Bir id-Deheb area of Żejtun, built in the early-mid 18th century (c.1724–1730) under the Manoel Foundation. It functioned as a grain mill and survived in varying states until it was **demolished about 1960**; no tower survives today.
Construction & architectural form
Date / patronage: Recorded in specialist surveys as built c.1724–1730 and attributed to the Manoel Foundation (the same foundation that built other rural mills on Malta).
Type: Classic Maltese tower (round) windmill — a circular limestone tower rising from a low rectangular/square base which contained storage and the miller’s rooms. The head had a timber rotating cap with timber stocks and canvas/timber sails that drove internal millstones via horizontal gearing (typical Maltese mill technology). Where specific mechanical plans for Bir id-Deheb are absent, the description follows the standard typology for Manoel-era mills.
Use & economic role
Primary function: Grinding cereals (wheat, barley, corn) for the local community and surrounding farms in the Żejtun / Bir id-Deheb area. As with other foundation-built mills, the mill likely produced rent/income or service for local food supply.
Local context: Bir id-Deheb is a longstanding place-name in the south-east of Malta; the mill formed part of a small cluster of rural infrastructure (chapel, springs, fields) around Żejtun.
Timeline & fate
c.1724–1730: Construction (Manoel Foundation).
18th–19th centuries: Regular working life as a corn/grain mill (no detailed year-by-year record publicly available).
Mid 20th century: Tower fell into disuse and was eventually dismantled/demolished around 1960 (specialist survey notes “broken down about 1960”). No above-ground tower remains today; historical photographs and references testify to its earlier existence.
What survives / visible evidence
Today: Nothing of the original tower survives in situ — the structure was demolished and the site has been altered; any documentary evidence is found in old photographs, maps and local memory rather than standing fabric. A historic image of the mill is available in public domain collections.