The Windmill Entertainment Centre

The Windmill began as a shelter pavilion, which with a bandstand and part of the Green was given to the Town by the Duke of Norfolk. Band Road was laid out in 1905, presumably for the bandstand, and the shelter pavilion built in 1912. In 1927 Charles Dore, Entertainments Manager for Littlehampton Urban District Council, converted the pavilion to a theatre. An adjacent site, with a Kursaal and windmill was sold by the Duke of Norfolk to Billy Butlin in 1952 for a fun fair, and it may be at this time that the windmill became an appendage to the elevation of the theatre furthest from the sea, rather in the fashion of a projection suite. Refurbished in 1968 it was renamed the Western Pavilion. In 1973 a bar and restaurant were added and it became the Windmill Theatre.

Seen now it is a red brick building of a single storey apart from its quaint windmill attachment. The auditorium is approached through a plain foyer with box office and administration office and is flat-floored with retractable seating. The flat floor was refurbished in 2010 as a sprung floor, providing greater flexibility for the use of the auditorium. The building operates throughout the year as a cinema and theatre, serving local societies. Since 2006 the Windmill has been managed by Inspire Leisure, who also manage the swimming and sports centre in Littlehampton and other facilities for the Council. As such it is able to work as a not for profit organisation, re-investing any operational surplus back into the organisation, to the great benefit of the theatre, and the local community. It is a popular and well-used local amenity.