And yesterday local historian and broadcaster John Grundy and Sunderland Mayor Coun Les Scott cut a cake to celebrate the bicentenary.

They were joined by special guests – six children from Eppleton Primary School – who won applause for the poems they had written to mark the occasion.

Before the ceremony, Mr Grundy described how he had provided the words for a virtual tour of the windmill, easily accessible to disabled people apart from the upper levels which are reached by very steep stairways.

"It's the only working windmill in the North East and I did it so we could provide the maximum pleasure for the visitors who may not be able to climb the stairs," he said.

He said there were once thousands of windmills in this country but now just "stumps" of many remained.

Ken Barella, acting curator, said: "It's a milestone for the mill and the millstone. It's a fantastic landmark and tourist attraction."

The Friends of Fulwell Windmill attended yesterday's ceremony, signalling the start of a weekend of events to mark the bicentenary.

Tomorrow there will be a birthday party and family fun day and on Sunday, the festivities move outdoors, with a walk along the Miller's Trail, an eight-mile route taking walkers from Whitburn windmill, past the remains of Cleadon windmill, and finishing at Fulwell windmill.