The mill was built for Sir William Bearswell by Holman's, the Canterburymillwrights. It was built to generate electricity and started generating in June 1929.[2] The mill ceased to generate electricity in 1939, when the dynamo was removed.[3] During the Second World War, the mill was occupied by a special branch of the WRNS.[4] Repairs were made to the mill in 1969 by millwrights Vincent Pargeter and Philip Lennard. These included a new fantail and repairs to the sails.[3]
St Margaret's Bay Windmill is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. It has four patent sails and is winded by a fantail.[2] The mill generated electricity via a dynamo and is now used as residential accommodation, a use it has always had.[3]