Norfolk Mills

The site database search engine is on the Norfolk Mills page

List of recently updated pages - last site update 20th July 2014

This website contains a considerable amount of historical and genealogical data for well over
1,000 mills along with over 3,000 photographs.

All pages should be easily accessible via the links above.

Wanted!

Photographs of Norfolk windmills and watermills
for copying (repairing if necessary) and preserving
All photographs would of course be returned immediately
Please or telephone 01263 713658

A major report has just been published entitled:
River Wensum restoration strategy
by
Natural England

The effect on the landscape and Wensum river valley is dramatic, to say the least. The face of this part of Norfolk is changing dramatically, fundamentally and probably permanently.
Structural alterations may be made to many of the mills in order to accommodate the plans. Features such as mill dams are being depleted or lowered and some mills maybe effectively bypassed altogether.

This policy is now being implemented and now includews the River Glaven in North Norfolk.

If this policy were then to be rolled out to other rivers such as the Tud, Waveney, Wissey or the upper reaches of the Bure, the face of Norfolk as we know it, would change forever.

The full report is available on the Natural_England_website in the form of the two pdfs containing both sections of the report. PDF_1 contains all the background and science behind the plans and PDF_2 contains details of the physical alterations to the area.

At the time of Domesday, in the 11th century, there were some 580 recorded watermills in Norfolk, but no windmills. The earliest known identified windmill site in Norfolk is at Barton_Bendish. although Thomas Thurne gave a windmill in Waxham to Hickling Priory c.1190.

By the 19th century only 80 or 90 watermills were still functioning but there were still 300 - 400 windmills in the county. By the late 1800s the water and windmilled stone ground flour was fast giving way to roller mill produced flour. The taste of the people was changing and the new technology was capable of producing flour in far more efficiently and faster.

Horning_Mill_Loke_postmill was probably the first postmill and possibly even the first windmill to be fitted with William Cubitt's patent sails c.1807 that were eventually to be used by virtually all Norfolk windmills. Stalham_smockmill is the only other known contender.

The first steam mill for auxiliary power was installed at Dickleburgh in 1834.

In 1939 Claude Messent recorded that there were only 60 watermills still standing and by 2004 the number had gone down to 52 with only around 20 still containing any remnants of machinery and many have now disappeared completely. Forever.

Standing watermills and windmills are now a rarity and this website is intended to provide a pictorial and historical record of all the mills I can trace here in Norfolk, England.
Jonathan Neville

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This site is recognised by
SPAB
The Society for the Protection
of Ancient Buildings
Mills Section

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