Norfolk Mills

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List of recently updated pages - last site update 15th August 2016

Biography of Sir Berney Brograve who built Brograve Mill

Price: £5.58 from Amazon

In the dark days of the 18th century Sir Berney Brograve had a lot to lose. His fortune. Seventeen children. Two wives. Peace of mind.

Embroiled in a battle of wits he terrorised the locals. But he felt vulnerable in his 16th century manor house perched precariously on the edge of the crumbling East Anglian coast.

He didn't sleep well. Smugglers fired cannonballs at his house at night. The French threatened to invade. Even Mother Nature tormented him. Year after year the North Sea eroded his sanity with each inundation of his land, leaving disease and death in its wake.

Add squandered inheritance, suicide and a scandalous divorce, eventually the house of Brograve came crashing down.

This is the real story behind the legend of the notorious ghost of Waxham.

Vincent Pargeter
millwright
RIP

The following eloquent obitury appears on the SPAB website.
I entirely echo its sentiments.
Jonathan Neville
Norfolkmills website

It is with great sadness and shock that we announce that Vincent Pargeter, our esteemed colleague and friend, died on 31st October. Vincent was the country’s pre-eminent millwright with over 45 years of experience studying, recording, conserving and repairing windmills. His knowledge was second to none and his actions have ensured the survival of countless mills that would otherwise have been lost. Tragically, much of that knowledge has gone with him, Vincent often joking that he would get around to writing up his personal experiences, research and learning ‘when he retired’, something he never quite managed to do.
Vincent was a member of the Section’s Committee for most of the last 30 years in various roles. Whilst standing down from the Committee in 2014, he continued to take a leading role in assessing and responding to casework on a week by week basis. He leaves an empty void which is going to be so very hard to fill, one of knowledge, time-served experience and passion for his craft. Vincent had committed himself to taking a leading role in our Millwrighting Apprenticeship Programme, working as Master Millwright, a role which was to enable him to share some of his knowledge and skills with the next generation of millwrights.
Vincent was not only passionate about mills, he also had a love of boats and was the proud co-owner of Maud, a Norfolk Wherry. His loss will be felt deeply within that community too.

Jonathan Cook
Chairman
SPAB Mills Section

This website contains a considerable amount of historical and genealogical data for well over
1,200 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

Harry Apling's wonderful book
Norfolk Corn Windmills
along with around
1,500 other mill titles and documents
are available from
Alan Ticehurst

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 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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