The street took its name from the windmill on the site which was first recorded 1585 and was demolished during the 1690s. In a parliamentary survey of 1658 the mill was described as "well fitted with Staves and other materials".
The area was first developed around 1665 but the building was speculative and of poor quality; this led to a royal proclamation in 1671 which prohibited unlicensed development in "Windmill Fields, Dog Fields and Soho". Later that year, Thomas Panton, who was one of the original speculators, was granted a licence to continue his scheme with the condition that it was supervised and directed by Sir Christopher Wren who was then the Surveyor General of the King's Works. By 1682, maps show that both sides of the street were developed along their whole length.
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