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c.1920
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Hardingham Mill
River Yare |
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c.1920
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Hardingham
watermill was situated
in a wooded area away from the village to the point where it was actually
in the parish of Runhall. The mill consisted of two adjoining buildings of different sizes. The
larger structure was built of red brick and then weather boarding and
a Norfolk pantile roof, while the smaller building was of weatherboarding
under a similar type of roof. The mill was rebuilt c.1820 and used three pairs of stones. Both lucums projected an unusually long way
out from the building. |
Up until about 1912 the watermill was worked in conjunction with the tower_windmill that stood just to the north. |
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c.1920
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To Millers To be Let For a term of Years |
Notice to Creditors of |
Capital Mills & Farm |
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James & William Smith, millers & bakers, were running the mill in 1834 along with Hardingham_towermill, Caston_postmill and Rockland_St_Andrew_postmill, when they got into financial difficulties and were forced to assign their personal estates and effects to their creditors. |
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Notice is hereby given that James Smith and William Smith, of Hardingham, Rockland_All_Saints and Caston, in the county of Norfolk, Millers and Bakers, have by Indenture dated 25 Feb. inst. assigned all their Personal Estate and Effects to Trustees for the equal benefit of their creditors. |
The Creditors of Messrs. James Smith & Son of Hardingham, Millers, are requested to meet the Trustees at the office of Mr. I. O. Taylor, St. Giles, Norwich, on Saturday 5 April at 11 o'c on very important business. |
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1932 |
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Copy of Claude Messent's 1938 drawing by Pippa Miller
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Extensive flour mills at Hardingham occupied by Messrs. Taylor & Tingay were destroyed by fire. |
After the fire of 1835, the mill was rebuilt by millwright and engineer, William_Thorald. He wrote to Roger Micklefield in 1836 - Hardingham Mill lately rebuilt for Messrs. Taylor & Tingay, the new water wheel and important wheel work at Northwold_Mill for Messrs. Cokers whereby three bushels of corn can be ground where one was ground before... |
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Tithe map 1846 - as redrawn by Harry Apling |
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c.1955 |
c.1959 |
Smithdale's Day Book 1853 - 1856 |
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| 1853 .. Jan |
TINGAY & CO., HARDINGHAM | ||
| New wheel patn. to Malt rolls | 4s. |
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| 2 new cast iron wheels with Men's time fitting do. on spindle turning rolls & fitting frame |
£1. 10s. |
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| 2 Feb. | LORD WODEHOUSE, HARDINGHAM | ||
| Pair Iron wedges to Water Wheel Gudgeon | 32 lbs. 4½ oz. |
12s. |
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| 7 Feb. | LORD WODEHOUSE, HARDINGHAM | ||
| 2 Men, 1 day (each) Hedging Gudgeon Water Wheel shafts | Train |
10s. 4s. |
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The turbine August 1965
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August
1965
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HARDINGHAM |
LITTLE ELLINGHAM. Concession to Journeymen Millers. The millers in the employ of John Tingey, Esq. of Little_Ellingham & Hardingham Mills beg publicly to thank him for the concession of one penny per hour of overtime. On behalf of the millers, William Loveday. Norfolk News - 11th May 1872 |
To Millers & Merchants |
On Tuesday next |
HARDINGHAM |
TO BE LET. With possession at Michaelmas next |
TO BE LET. With possession at Michaelmas next |
Mrs. Emma Elizabeth Allen, Mill House, Hardingham, widow, carrying on the business of miller and farmer charged Harvey Samuel Rudd formerly in her employment as farm manager with theft of £18. 10s. in gold. |
Goulder, Philip (went on to become miller at Kenninghall Banham Rd towermill by 1912)
The Miller - 17th November 1947Apprenticed at Hardingham Water Mill |
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24th
May 1966 - road closed due to falling debris and filming
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31st
May 2004 |
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In 1966 the mill was purchased by an American film company and was used as one of the locations for the shooting of the film The Shuttered Room starring Oliver Reed and Dame Flora Robson. For the final scenes of the film, the mill was set alight and burnt to the ground. |
When it was learnt that the mill was to be destroyed, various people contacted local councils and various newspapers. However, the planning committee was of the opinion that the mill had no architectural merit and would not meet the necessary criteria to become a listed building. Ian Gilmore MP sent an urgent hand delivered letter to Mr. Crossman, Minister of Housing, whose department responded by stating that it was a matter for Norfolk County Council. |
OLD MILL FOR BURNING |
| Sir, -As director of the film, I was responsible for ordering the burning of the old mill at Hardingham, Norfolk. This mill was quite without architectural interest, had not been occupied for 40 years, and was so dangerously delapidated that the road past it was closed to trafffic as unsafe. Its outer appearance was grim and forbidding, and the photographs published in the newspapers all showed it artificially beautified by my film art department, with false windows, doors, shutters, & c. It was these photographs which roused the indignation of the rural preservationists, who had never previously taken the slightest interest in the place! |
| Yours sincerely, DAVID GREENE, 5 Margaretta Terrace, S.W.3. |
| The Times - 6th June 1966 |
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Oliver Reed during filming in 1966
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May
1966 - just before the mill was burnt |
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Photo taken from within the lucam May 1966 |
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The derelict Hardingham Mill, which straddles the River Yare and has not been used for about 30 years, is to end its days in a blaze of Technicolor glory. A film unit started shooting on location there yesterday for some of the main sequences for "The Shuttered Room," a highly dramatic thriller which is supposed to be set on an island off the coast of New England. In the final sequence, which will probably be filmed early next week, the mill is burnt down and as it is half brick and half timber, with some massive beams inside, it should make a spectacular blaze. The road that runs in front of the mill has been closed to traffic since last December when part of the bridge collapsed. Whether the bridge should be repaired or the road closed permanently is something at the moment in dispute. The mill itself belongs to Mr. C.L. Banham, a Runhall farmer, but the ownership of the bridge is in dispute. Norfolk County Council considers that it not owned by any local authority. Starring in the film are Dame Flora Robson, Gig Young, the American
star of the TV series "The Rogues," Carol Lynley, a young actress
who has featured in a number of major productions, and Oliver Reed, the
British actor who has made an impact in "heavy" roles. |
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The mill well alight 30th May 1966
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Filming
the escape 30th May 1966
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Near
total destruction 30th May 1966
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29th
December 1972 - Anglia TV
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When visited on 27th February 1977, apart from the foundations, all that remained were scattered bricks and rubble, the decaying remains of one French burr stone and a pile of charred beams. |
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March 1967
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1968 |
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Road still closed in 1968 |
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For three or four years during the war blackcurrant growers in the area took their crops to Hardingham Mill where Farrows had a steam engine to steam and pulp the fruit. It was then put into barrels and taken to Hardingham Station to be transported to the preserving factories. |
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Mill dam and new road bridge in 1977 |
Part of the old mill wall next to the new bridge in 1977 |
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Hardingham village sign January 1983
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The nearby mill house, originally built of brick in 1835, now has a modern but sympathetically designed white weatherboarded extension. |
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Thomas Allen born 3rd October 1831, was the eldest son of Bryant Granger Allen and Mary Allen (née Mary Ramm) of Norwich. The 1851 census shows that Bryant Allen was then 44 years old and working as a dyer, living in Norwich with Mary, who was 43. 19 year old Thomas, who had 4 brothers and two sisters, was working as a clerk. On 13th November
1852, Thomas Allen became a Freeman of Norwich and at this time he was
working as an accountant. Thomas married Elizabeth Burton at Thorpe St
Andrew on 30th December 1856. By 1881 Thomas, at the age of 49, had become
a Norwich corn merchant and also the miller at Hardingham. Elizabeth who
was 45, was living with him and they had four children - Sidney Granger
(11), Mary (9), Lee (6) and Ernest (4), all of whom were born in Norwich.
At this time the Allen's were living at Scoles Green, Norwich along with
three staff. Francis N. Palmer (20) was clerk to Thomas, Emily Freeman
(65) was housekeeper and Martha Aldis (16) was a servant. |
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Filming the escape 30th May 1966 |
The same position 31st May 2005 |
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Millpool 31st May 2004
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O.S. Map 1890 Image produced from the www.old-maps.co.uk service with permission of Landmark Information Group Ltd. and Ordnance Survey |
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O.S. Map 2005 Image reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey |
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1820: Mill and windmill were rebuilt
Kelly's 1916: Mrs Lee Allen, miller (water) Hardingham mills |
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 713658 or
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| Nat Grid Ref TG04830625 | Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2005 |