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Snettisham Mill
River Ingol |
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Snettisham
Millers
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Robert Chapman,
miller 1800 - 1836 When Robert Chapman started as the first miller of the new mill in 1800 he was paid the very high wage of £1 per week. However agricultural wages were linked to the price of wheat and by 1810 Robert's wages were cut to 15/- per week and then further reduced to 7/- per week on 9th May 1818. This was despite the fact that the mill was still earning 8/- per bushel for floor sweepings. Robert was miller both before and after the time T. Horner ran the mill. It is possible Robert was ill during this period. It is unclear when Robert died but his wife Elizabeth died on 29th December 1848, in Docking Union workhouse. |
T. Horner, miller
December 1816 - February 1817 T. Horner was only miller for twelve weeks and was paid the at the same rate of 15/- per week as Robert Chapman had been. It is quite possible that this newcomer was acting as a caretaker miller in Robert's absence. It was noted in the cash book that T. Horner received a rent of 3s 9d rent - possibly from Robert Chapman for use of his cottage. T. Horner also received a one off payment of 5s 3½d, possibly severance pay. |
John Chapman,
miller 1836 - 1844 John was Robert Chapman's son and was born in 1814. John married Elizabeth Susannah Butcher (Sarah) from Anmer on 22nd December 1817 when he was 23. John had taken over the mill at the age of 22 on the death of his father in 1836 but he died on 7th June 1845 at the age of 31. |
Sarah Chapman,
miller 1844 - 1850 When John died Sarah became a widow at the age of 30. She continued to run the mill for five years, employing one man to help her and during that time never remarried. In 1850 she allowed her father to take over the running of the mill. On 15th November 1852 she had an illegitimate daughter, Emma who went on to become a dressmaker. Emma had three illegitimate children of her own and they all continued to live with Sarah until just after Emma's third child was born in 1880, after which she moved into lodging with the Snell family in 1881. Emma eventually married Adolphus Reeves with whom she had a son. On 10th January 1857, Sarah married William Wright, who was almost certainly the man whom she had employed during her time as miller - the 1851 census showed William Wright as a 30 year old bachelor miller whilst lodging with one George Drew. Sarah then had two daughters with William - Mary and Ellen, one of whom later had an illegitimate daughter of her own. Elizabeth Sarah Wright died in Docking Union Workhouse in January 1901 and was buried in Snettisham on 12th January that year. |
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| Emma Chapman | Elizabeth Susannah Wright (Sarah Chapman) née Butcher (possibly) |
| Photos are from an album of unidentified people living in the mill house | |
I stumbled across your page whilst trying to find out about my family history in Snettisham. The photo believed to be Sarah Chapman (Elizabeth Susannah Wright) is my Great Great Great Grandmother! The information you have is in keeping with what I've found out myself. You mention she had a daughter Ellen, after marrying William Wright. This daughter was Ellen Elizabeth Wright, who went on to marry Henry Whitby. One of Ellen and Henry's daughters fell into the water at the mill and died aged 2. They lived in a cottage nearby. They had quite a few children, including William "Bill" Arthur Whitby, who lied about his age to join the Norfolk Regiment 2nd Btn. and fought in the Boer War. He was taken prisoner but returned and later fought in the 1st World War with his younger brother Guy Marriott Whitby, who was killed in action. He later was a sea defense officer during the Second World War. Bill was quite something! His duties in WW2 were at home, patrolling Snettisham beach, drinking and smoking like a trooper, with his pet parrot! Finally discharged due to old age. |
Stephen Butcher,
miller 1850 - 1863 Stephen Butcher was the farm bailiff to the Coldham family at nearby Anmer Hall until he took over the running of the mill from his daughter Sarah in 1850. He continued until his death on 6th December 1863 aged 78. Stephen Butcher was buried beside his late wife in Anmer. |
Edwin Butcher,
miller 1863 Edwin Butcher was Stephen's 48 year old son and thus Sarah's brother. He took over the mill on the death of his father but almost immediately handed it over to Sarah's second husband William Wright. Edwin had no previous knowledge of milling, having previously been in the Royal Marines in Portsmouth 1830 - 1852. The 1871 census shows Edwin living as a lodger with Sarah and William whilst drawing a navy pension. He died in 1895 and was buried in Snettisham on 15th February in that year. |
William Wright,
miller 1863 - 1892 William Wright was born in Castle Rising and at some point moved to Snettisham and was employed at the mill in 1851 by Stephen Butcher and almost certainly prior to that by Sarah Chapman. He married John Chapman's widow Sarah in 1857 and took over the day to day running of the mill on the death of Sarah's father Stephen in 1863. Stephen's son Edwin whom it appears inherited the title of miller was more than happy to hand the job over to William who then became miller at the age of 42. In 1868 the machinery was improved and a new granary and waggon store was built, the design mirroring the existing building but it is unclear who financed these improvements - probably the Syleham Le Strange family as mill owners. William finally retired at the age of 72 and ended his days in Docking Union workhouse, where he died during the September quarter of 1902. |
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William Wright (possibly) |
Photo from an album of unidentified people living in the mill house |
John Whitrod,
miller 1892 - 1912 John Whitrod was the miller at Dersingham postmill (demolished Feb 1907) for the two years prior to moving to Snettisham. A local lady, Mrs. Elizabeth Ainsworth, remembers visiting the mill in 1912 when she was 8 years old. She used to take buckets of wheat to the mill on little cart to have the wheat ground by Mr. Whitrod. Her name then was Betty Daniels and her mother prepared the wheat for milling into wholemeal flour for her to bake bread for the family. Mrs. Ainsworth remembers the miller turning the handle which lowered the water shutter to set the wheel in motion but as a little girl she used to think that he actually turned the mill-wheel with this handle! She remembers Mrs. Whitrod as "A dirty old woman with an apron made from sack." Mrs. Whitrod made toffee which she used to give to the little girls but Betty didn't fancy it and threw it into the hedge. Mrs. Ainsworth was our guest of honour when we re-started the mill in 1984. Robin Nott - c.1986 |
William Morley,
miller 1912 - 1925 Little is known about William Morley apart from a memory of him by a visitor to the mill in the 1980s. The gentleman would sometimes watch Mr. Morley at work in 1923 and as a small boy could not understand why Mr. Morley was so kind and friendly outside the mill but so stern and gruff when working. (Machinery was unguarded in those days) |
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Ralph Hodge,
miller 1925 - 1936 |
Charlie Taylor,
miller 1936 - 1941 Charlie Taylor lived in Ingoldisthorpe and worked for Ralph Hodge. He helped in the garden and with the transport business but eventually spent much of his time running the mill during its latter days before it finally ceased work in about 1941. |
Robin Nott,
miller 1981 - c.1992 The Nott family left London after the great fire of 1666 and moved to Hertfordshire where they worked on or close to the land for many generations. In 1940 Robin Nott joined ICI as an research assistant in their laboratories and became involved with the development of plastics. Here he earned the same wage as Robert Chapman did 140 years before in 1800 - £1 per week. After serving in the Royal Navy during the war, Robin achieved a B.Sc. university degree and went on to travel the world as a technical consultant in polypropylene and other plastics. At this time he was living with his wife Audrey and family in Welwyn Garden City and it was from there that they moved to Snettisham in 1981 and set about restoring the mill. The mill was first opened to the public as a working museum in 1984. |
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1626: Thomas
Stonne L.D. Barnes
- various alterations including garden landscaping |
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 07836 675369 or
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| Nat Grid Ref TF68083346 | Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2003 |