c.1900
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Yaxham
towermill |
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c.1900
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Yaxham tower mill was built by William Critoph in 1860. The 48 foot, six storey tarred tower had a ground diameter of 20 feet that narrowed by 2 feet per floor culminating with a horizontally boarded ogee cap with a 6 bladed fan, a gallery and a ball finial that was still a garden ornament in the 1980s. The four double shuttered sails, each with 10 bays of 3 shutters, drove 3 pairs of underdriven stones, at least one pair of which were composite. A stage was set around the second floor. A bake house and shop were nearby on the site. |
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Brick tower, tarred |
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Reuben Tilney ran Yaxham_smockmill in Paper Street from 1845-1853 and this was bought by William Critoph who then moved the mill to his own property that he had bought, complete with a postmill in 1857. The towermilll was built using timber sawn on a bench within the smockmill. Reuben Tilney moved on to Mileham_postmill and towermill and William Critoph was one of the executors to his will when he died in 1877. |
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c.1905 |
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The postmill had been built in 1810 by Michael Hardy on copyhold land he had bought from one Daniel Nicholson using a £300 mortgage he had obtained from Dereham farmer, James Nicholson. Michael Hardy put the postmill with two pairs of stones and land up for auction on Friday 5th September 1828. However, it appears that Michael Hardy finally sold the mill and premises to John Banyard in 1829 for £600 with a further £275 for the land. |
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c.1905 |
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The postmill was again put up for auction in May 1834 but may not have been sold. John Banyard died in 1842 and Mrs. Charlotte Sophia Astley, who had already taken over the mortgage, bought the property in 1847, only to die later that year. The postmill was left to Ellen, who was the wife of Revd. Frederick Brewster Thompson, although a dispute in ownership validity arose at this point. Eventually the mill was run by tenants Robert Springhall, 1834 - 1840 and then his son Robert Aldous Springhall 1845 - 1857, both of whom also worked Garveston_postmill. William Critoph purchased the mill and land at auction on Friday 18th September 1857 for £400. |
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William Critoph
was also working Mattishall_Mill_Road_towermill in 1883 and he was a descendent of Robert Critoph of Gresham who in turn was probably
related to the Critoph milling family of Sheringham
and Upper Sheringham. |
William Critoph bought and moved the smockmill to his own property that he had bought, complete with the postmill in 1857. The towermill was then built using timber sawn on a bench within the smockmill. |
In 1853 Reuben Tilney moved to Mileham_postmill and towermill when William Critoph bought Yaxham_smockmill where Reuben Tilney was miller. William Critoph was one of the executors to Reuben Tilney's will when he died in 1877. |
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EAST DEREHAM. Thunderstorm. |
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c.1920 |
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William Critoph:- |
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Mills include:- Gresham watermill & windmill, Gt Dunham, Mattishall, Sheringham, Swanton Morley, Upper Sheringham, Yaxham postmill, smockmill & towermill |
In February 1904, Thomas William Stebbing Parlett took over running the mill and installed a Tatershall Half Sack Midget Mill Roller Plant. |
DEATHS |
YAXHAM |
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In its heyday the mill was providing flour to the adjacent bakery, which produced bread for sale at the shop on the same site. The site included workers' cottages, the bakery and the miller's house, now the Yaxham Mill restaurant with accommodation. |
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April 1935 |
10th May 1937 |
A replica smockmill was built near the railway line in the 1970s to generate electricity. |
Wm. Critoph had a smock_mill in Paper Street. House still standing there on the east side. Mill removed when he bought the post_mill property and re-erected there to drive a saw bench for cutting wood for building of tower mill by his grandfather, Henry Fysh. |
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1989 |
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c.2010 |
c.2010 |
I bought the Yaxham Mill complex in 2006 from the Skipper family who in turn had purchased the business from Dot and Mick McCarthy. Last year I sold the pub and restaurant to Hugo and Anna Stevenson and the outhouse cottages to Ann Goodfellow. I still own the mill itself and the attached accommodation block. My daughter Sarah lives in the mill and runs the b&b business for me. |
I have been researching the William Critoph who owned Yaxham Mill. His youngest daughter (Flora May Mary Critoph) married Arthur John Farrow of Mattishall. Mr Farrow ran a haulage business in Mattishall and was one of the biggest employers we have ever had in the village. |
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22nd July 2022 |
16th September 2023 |
The Mill building has 6 floors and the 2nd floor is now used as a breakfast room for the 6 room accommodation in the adjoining annexe.
The Tower Mill has been completely re rendered on the outside and is now grey instead of the old black colour. P:aul Stollery - 15th April 2024 |
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O. S. Map 1882 Mill to the east of the village Courtesy of NLS map images |
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1860: Mill
built by William Critoph (descendent of Robert Critoph of Gresham probably
related to the Critoph milling family of Sheringham and Upper_Sheringham 1900: William Critoph, miller & corn merchant 1904: Thomas Stebbing, miller & baker |
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 TG 01321045 |
Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2024 |