Norfolk Mills - Heacham post windmill

Heacham postmill

Heacham postmill stood to the northeast of the village and not far from Heacham watermill.

Tithe map 1839 - as redrawn by Harry Apling

Tithe Award 1842 Map, J. Utting, Land Surveyor, Lynn Regis, 1839
Field 351	Lower Saffron Close	Arable	18a. 1r. 6p.

James WAGG of Heacham, Norfolk, baker
died 18 Jul 1867 [age 70] at Heacham
PROBATE proved at NORWICH 23 Nov 1867
by Sarah WAGG of Heacham, widow, the relict, and William WAGG of Snettisham, Norfolk, baker, the son, the executors
effects under 300 pounds
Principal Probate Registry - 1858 - 1931

Notice re estate of
James Wagg, late of Heacham
whose will was proved on 23 November
Lynn Advertiser - 14th March 1868

My 'Wagg' family have a long association with Sedgeford, going back at least to the very early part of the 18th Century. However, I think that the James Wagg and the 'Mrs Wagg' mentioned in your list were based in Heacham. (The 1861 census indicates that James was born in Sedgeford, but the 1851 version says Heacham. I'll crack this one when I have a little more time.)

Anyway, James appears in the 1841 census as a baker in Heacham. In the 1851 census, he's listed as a baker and flour dealer, employing 2 men and an errand boy, also in Heacham. By 1861, he's employing 3 men and a boy. He is dead before the 1871 census, but his wife - Sarah - is recorded as a 'miller and baker', living at the Bakers Shop in Heacham. It would seem that the 'Mrs Wagg' appearing in your entry is Sarah Wagg, the widow of James.
Mike Thurlow, South Africa - 17th December 2007

I am researching the history of the house in which I live. James Wagg lived here during his life time with Sarah, the last of his three wives. His father was probably William Wagg a baker in Heacham. William was born in Sedgeford but moved to Heacham between 1797 and 1800, a period when James was born and hence the birth place confusion. There is no record of his birth in either of the parish records. There is a record of James Wagg as a witness at the marriage of Elizabeth Wagg daughter of William Wagg to Jacob Skoyles in 1823. One other witness was Rosemary Wagg her younger sister.
Elizabeth Wagg, widow of William, married William Morgan (baker) one year after William's death in 1812. James would have been 14 or 15 years old. William Morgan died in 1823. James had one step brother Robert in 1818. I think this would have been an interesting time in the Wagg household. James Wagg had an entry as a baker in Pigot & Co for 1930.
Archie Love - 3rd January 2010

I speak of William Spanton in this way because he is just out of reach of my family photographs and just out of reach of my personally knowing someone who knew him.
William Spanton and his wife, Mary (née Sparrow) were the parents of my great grandmother, Sarah Jane Spanton. She was the twelfth child. She, her mother and brother emigrated to Canada years after the death of her father. She married an Englishman in Toronto in 1862 and they returned to England after two children. But, seeking scope for his work returned to Montreal and later Toronto, where she passed away in 1921.
Janice Lancaster née La Trobe - 16th April 2019

White's 1836:

Census 1841:

James Wagg, baker

James Wagg (44) baker
Sarah Wagg (34)
Mary Wagg (20)
Elizabeth Wagg (18)
James Wagg (14)
Louisa Wagg (9)
Lucy Wagg (7)
Richard Wagg (5)
Emily Wagg (3)
Susannah Wagg (5mnths)

Index of Wills 1627: Francis Sawer, miller

1830: William Spanton, miller

White's 1836: William Spanton, miller & baker

White's 1845: James Wagg, miller & baker

Census 1851:

James Wagg (55) b.Heacham, master baker & flour dealer employing 2 men & 1 errant boy
Sarah Wagg (45) b.Snettisham
James William Wagg (24) b.Heacham, journeyman baker
Emily Wagg (13) b.Heacham, scholar
Susannah Wagg (10) b.Heacham, scholar
Harriet Wagg (8) b.Heacham, scholar
Helen Wagg (7) b.Heacham
Henry Wagg (6) b.Heacham, scholar
John Wagg (5) b.Heacham, scholar
Sarah Fuller (26) b.Holme next the Sea, general servant
Elliott Seaman (16) b.Sedgeford, general servant

White's 1854: James Wagg, miller & baker - also at Sedgeford towermill

Census 1861:

James Wagg (64) b.Sedgeford, baker employing 3 men & 1 boy
Sarah Wagg (54) b.Snettisham
Lucy Wagg (26) b.Heacham
Emily Wagg (23) b.Heacham
Susannah S. Wagg (20) b.Heacham
Henry H. Wagg (16) b.Heacham
Lucy Barlow (2) b.Norwich (granddaughter)
Thomas Warnes (29) b.Ingoldisthorpe, journeyman baker

White's 1864: James Wagg, corn miller & baker

1865: James Wagg, miller

18th July 1867: James Wagg died aged 70

1868: Mrs. Sarah Wagg, miller, baker & merchant

Census 1871:

Sarah Wagg (64) b.Snettisham, miller & baker (widow)
Emily Wagg (33) b.Heacham
Harriet Wagg (28) b.Heacham
Louisa Barlow (38) b.Heacham (daughter)
Alfred Barlow (8) b.Norwich, scholar (grandson)
William Barlow (4) b.Fakenham, scholar (grandson)
Maria Howard (19) b.Heacham, servant

1871: Mrs. Sarah Wagg, miller, baker & merchant - also at Sedgeford towermill

1872: Mrs. Sarah Wagg, miller, baker & merchant

1875: Mrs. Sarah Wagg, miller, baker & merchant

c.1876: Sarah Wagg died

Altered Tithe Apportionment 1910: Tithe Award 351A given as Enclosure 252 The Windmill 4.121a

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

Nat Grid Ref TF68473788

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