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c.1907
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Aylsham Mill
River Bure |
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Aylsham watermill was rebuilt to a Georgian design, entirely of brick with a pantile roof in 1798 as shown on a stone plaque above one of its waterways. A stone in the gable of one of the old maltings refers to the date of 1771 and the builder, Robert Parmeter, who was possibly anticipating the 1773 Act of Parliament that authorised the construction of the Aylsham_Navigation. The mill was sometimes known as Millgate Mill as it lies just off the road of that name that lead from the town down to the river on the north side of Aylsham. A mill has almost certainly been on the site since Domesday or before. Unusually, the mill had three lucums, two over land and one over the millpool to make use of the wherries. |
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1855
layout of the staithe
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Aylsham
staithe 1928
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In
1770 the miller Thomas Spurrell died and left a will in the Norwich Consistory
Court. He describes the mills as "...all those water mills called Aylsham mills..."
and he was obviously very well-off. Of particular interest concerning
the mills was the appointment of his executors, one of whom was Thomas
Harvey of Aylsham, Millwright while another was Joseph Ames of the mills
in Hellesdon, Gentleman.
The latter appointment implies considerable contact between Spurrell and
Ames even though Hellesdon is not on the
Aylsham Navigation although Oxnead is and Joseph
Ames ran that mill at some point, certainly in 1779. The will was signed
26 March 1770 and Thomas Spurrell was buried in Aylsham 23 June 1770,
these dates are consistent with Robert Parmeter taking over the mill in
1771. |
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At some time in the second half of the 19th century, the block that runs along the south edge of the millpool was built, in two phases, replacing an older detached building. The millpool was also widened right up to its walls. This part of the premises was described in the 1914 sale catalogue as 'extensive granaries, with large Coal Store below and two Wheat Floors above, convenient for loading or unloading from the river or road'. |
| Over the centuries
the whole area was moulded and developed with Millgate becoming a hub of
industrial activity once the 11 mile long Aylsham
Navigation was opened on completion of the new canal basin excavated
alongside the mill in October 1779. A channel was cut to the north of the
mill and a staithe with warehousing was built to house the goods transported
in and out by wherry. By 1854 wherries plied weekly between Aylsham and
Yarmouth. At the height of the water transport years 26 wherries were serving
Aylsham. In 1880 the railway arrived. Aylsham North's M&GN station a few hundred yards away took over some of the traffic when it opened, as did the GER's Aylsham South station. Nearby pubs and inns such as The Anchor thrived for many generations. |
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The Aylsham Navigation |
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| 1773: Navigation
authorised by an Act of Parliament 1774: Work started 1779: Navigation opened, running for 9½ miles with 5 locks, one at each of the mills
26th August 1912: The great flood effectively closed the Naviagation by destroying the locks 1974: Aylsham Canal Basin filled in |
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Aylsham
lock 1928
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| The disastrous flood of August 1912 destroyed many of the locks of the Aylsham Navigation. These were never repaired as the commissioners had insufficient funds. Traffic to Aylsham was thus reduced to road and rail only. The wherry Zulu was on its way back from Aylsham to the coast when it was caught by the flood. After the destruction of the lock gates the Zulu had to be carried over the road at Buxton. |
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Millgate looking northwest August 1912 |
Millgate looking north August 1912 |
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c.1950 |
March 1970 |
By 1864 the
watermill had a competitor - a new steam mill built on the other side
of the canal only a hundred yards away at the industrial hamlet of Dunkirk.
These mills both worked independently for half a century until Barclay,
Pallett and Co., having acquired the steam mill in 1907, bought the watermill
in 1914 at the auction described on the link above. At this time the watermill had two water wheels and the power they produced was used to turn five pairs of stones. However, the smaller wheel was removed in the mid 1950s and the remaining wheel then powered two meal-mixing machines, while several electrically driven high-speed hammer mills did the work of milling animal foodstuffs. |
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7th
April 1977
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Around 1960
a toe bearing on an upright shaft broke and was replaced with a ball and
thrust bearing made by SKF. A pit wheel was recogged using beech, apple
and hornbeam. Unfortunately, after only running for a short time, a wedge
holding the upright shaft shifted causing the shaft to move out of line,
this resulted in many of the cogs breaking off. They were never replaced
- see pictures on the machinery link below. |
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Millpool lucum 6th January 2003
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The two road transport lucums November 2002 |
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Barclay &
Pallet was acquired by BOCM (British Oil & Cake Mills) in 1967.
Aylsham mill was vacated in the same year, and a new provender mill
(preparing animal feedstuffs) was built to replace the steam mills at
Dunkirk. Thus, although the methods changed, the long history of corn
milling on the banks of the Bure at Aylsham continued unbroken for perhaps
a thousand years. |
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The wherry Palmerston unloading 1902
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24th November 2002
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| In 1759 an Aylsham mason William Berry, built the single arch brick bridge over the Bure just above the mill that is still in use today, replacing the old wooden structure. Miraculously the bridge survived the 1912 flood as the river above it overflowed into the staithe. |
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New
pelleting machinery in 1954
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New pelleting machinery was installed by Simon Barron in 1954 and is seen being operated by Harry Ashton, Billy Pooley and Jack Pegg. |
A young man
called Williams died in machinery aged 20. He was buried in Itteringham
churchyard as he used to live in that village. |
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Tailrace 7th April 1977
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The cut leading to the staithe November 2002
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Watercolour by John Watson 1992 |
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O.S. Map 2005 Image reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey |
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18th April 2007 |
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Domesday
1086: First written record of the mill
1967: BOCM
(British Oil & Cake Mills) bought out Barclay & Pallet and vacated
the mill.
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If
you have any memories, anecdotes or photos please let us know and we may
be able to use them to update the site. By all means telephone 01263 587564
or
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| Nat Grid Ref TG19802746 | Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2003 |