Mill working c.1926
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Stratton St Michael
towermill
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Mill working c.1926 |
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Stratton St Michael towermill was built on a site to the east of the A140 Norwich to Ipswich road. Originally built as a three storey red brick mill, two additional stories had been added by 1865, with the batter being reduced. A steam engine was installed c.1914 to provide auxiliary power. |
A postmill to the north of the mill house was under the same ownership during at least the 1820s and 1830s. |
The mill used 4 double shuttered sails struck by rack and pinion to power 2 pairs of stones and 2 flour mills. Each sail had 8 bays of 3 and 1 bay of 2 shutters. The Norfolk boat shaped cap had a petticoat and held a 6 bladed fan and a chain pole. Rex Wailes reported that on the upright shaft, a footstep in a brass pot was let into a spindle beam. |
To be Sold. Two capital Corn Mills, one a Brick Tower Mill, and the other a Post Mill, with Round House, Granaries and other convenient Buildings, in excellent repair, and about two acres of land, late in the occupation of Mr. James Aldred, situate at Long Stratton, Norfolk. Immediate possession. |
LONG STRATTON |
Notice is hereby given that James Aldred the Younger, of Stratton St. Michael, in the county of Norfolk, Miller and Farmer, hath conveyed and assigned all his estate for the benefit of his creditors. |
Notice to Debtors and Creditors of |
STRATTON |
To be Sold by Auction by Mr. SHARPE at the Swan Inn, Long Stratton on Tuesday 22nd April 1834 at 5 o'clock. |
STRATTON |
To be Sold by Auction by Mr. J. B. SHARPE at the Swan Inn, Long Stratton on Tuesday 29th (instead of the 22nd) day of April 1834 at 5 o'clock. |
| To be Sold by Auction at the Swan Inn, Long Stratton on 29 April, 1834, by order of the Trustee for Sale thereof, late the property of Mr. James Aldred the Younger. All that brick Tower Windmill, three stories high, with patent sails, and a stable and granaries. Also a capital Post_Windmill with granary. Also two good cottages and a tenement, now used as a Dissenting Chapel, together with a piece of land containing about two acres situate in Stratton St. Michael and late in the occupation of the said James Aldred. Norfolk Chronicle - 26th April 1834 |
Sale By Order of the Trustees of Mr. James Aldred of Stratton St. Mary |
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Mill working c.1926 |
To be Sold. A new built Brick Tower Windmill and a good Post_Windmill, also two Cottages, a Dissenting Chapel, and about two acres of land, situate in Stratton St. Michael, late in the occupation of Mr. Aldred. Immediate possession may be had. |
STRATTON & NORWICH |
STRATTON ST. MICHAEL |
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Tithe map 1838 - as redrawn by Harry Apling |
The map above shows to postmill to the north of the mill house and the towermill just to the south. |
Tithe Award 1839 |
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No. 268 |
Mill, Buildings, Chapel & pasture |
1a. 2r. 5p. |
Part of 8/- |
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James Goodswen miller, of Stratton St. Michael, appoints Mary his wife, and his two sons in law, William Field of Pulham St. Mary Magdalen and Benjamin Coppings of Hardwick in the said County, Millers as executors.
Extract from will of James Goodswen, miller of Stratton St. Michael - written 12th February 1852 |
Mr. William Robertson, deceased |
MILLER, SON & BUGG, Solicitors to the Executors. |
| Norwich, 15 December 1858 |
| Norfolk News - 18th December 1858 |
William Robertson was the eldest son of William Robertson and Mary Scarffe of Hethersett. |
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11th May 1937 |
1938 |
LONG STRATTON |
LONG STRATTON |
To Millers |
To be Let at Michaelmas next |
LONG STRATTON |
Alfred Aldridge, deceased, |
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29th August 1972 |
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By 1972 a leanto building had been built against the tower and the mill had been capped with a conical green roof bearing a weathervane. At this time the mill was still trading as Long Stratton Mills. |
The 1972 image is as I remember it. The lean-to shed was in fact a loading bay that could take up to three lorries. These were loaded by wooden chutes the allowed sacks of various products to be dropped into the bucks of the lorries. One of these chutes came from the old wind-mill which at that time was used for temporary storage of produce. The 2006 image shows the loading bay a more clearly. The lorry to the right in the 1972 image is standing on the weigh-bridge. Behind the weigh-bridge, to the south, was a sack repair workshop where hessian sacks were made good, before the change to paper sacks. |
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25th February 2006 |
Excerpt from The Long Stratton poem written in the 1950s (see local website on Links page for all 52 verses) |
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Verse 13 |
In days gone by up Stratton hill, Once stood the famous Rayners mill, The wind got weak so go the tales, That’s why the miller took off the sails. |
Verse 34 |
On the Wood Green road stood Leeders Mill, If it isn’t gone, it stands there still. When Rayners mill sail ceased to turn, Leeder said "thank God now I can earn". |
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1989 |
25th February 2006 |
There was a fire at Long Stratton mills in the 1950s my dad was a builder (R. S. Norman) and he rebuilt the mill for Mr Leeder, to do this he had to take on more men. I think there is a Notice on the back of the building saying that the building was rebuilt after a fire in the fifties. |
On 3rd January 1978 a 'tornado', struck my father's house nearby and removed roof tiles. He was in the garden at the time and he said he heard a noise like heavy rain and just watched in amazement as tiles on the northern end of the house got drawn up into the air. He, although standing within 20m, never felt a thing. |
My father John Richard Reeder took a job with R S Norman (Bob) after the war (WWII) to help repair the damage after the fire in the modern roller mill . He subsequently took a job with B L Leeder (Lenny) and became the millwright for the roller mill and the later animal food preparation elements. I remember as a child going to 'the mill' on Sunday morning to assist my dad with routine maintenance of removing flour dust from the dust-collector sleeves and cleaning the insides of the vast amount of steel vacuum tubes that conveyed cereal and especially flour around the mill. This entailed using cylindrical brushes on long rigid steel wires that were pushed and pulled along the tubes through special maintenance outlets. Later he became the chief millwright and maintenance manager for the whole Leeder's Estate. I enjoyed many summer school holidays working with my dad and his team maintaining the mill, houses and farm buildings as well as added new facilities. |
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Site plan c.2015 |
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O. S. Map 1883 Courtesy of NLS map images |
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O.S. map 1974 Image reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey |
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Kelly's 1922: Francis Leeder, farmer |
Bryant's map 1826: Mill
White's 1845: William Robertson, miller (listed under Stratton St. Mary)
1852: James Goodswen, owner and occupier
c.1980: Mill with roof forming part of Basil L. Leeder's modern mill 1990: Mill tower in good condition on mill site 2006: Mill tower in good condition on mill site |
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 TM20719209 |
Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2005 |
