Upton
Black mill
River Bure


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Norfolk Windmills


c.1972
c.1972

Upton Black mill was so called because it was a black tarred Norfolk red brick tower drainage mill. The tower, which had less batter in the upper section was encircled with 5 iron bands. The boat shaped cap had a gallery with a petticoat and held a fan stage. A date stone inscribed 1800 was set under a window facing the river.

14th July 1987
14th July 1987

Upton Black mill was so called because it was a black tarred Norfolk red brick tower drainage mill. The tower, which had less batter in the upper section was encircled with 5 iron bands. The boat shaped cap had a gallery with a petticoat and held a fan stage. A date stone inscribed 1800 was set under a window facing the river.

The mill stood near a farmhouse and barns and by 1985 a modern drainage pump was working nearby.

I am originally from Bishops Stortford, and as a child we used to holiday in a cottage next to a windmill called Palmers Mill just outside a small village called Upton, near Acle. Back in those days it was a dirt road and we had no electricity or plumbing, so we had gas lamps and an old chemical toilet, the road was so bad in winter times that we had to get out and push the car out of the mud! I am enclosing two pictures of the mill and the mill keepers cottage that we used to stay in as children.
Barrie M. Plumb - 22nd November 2006

Mill keeper's house c.1972 Mill keeper's house & mill c.1972
Mill keeper's house c.1972
Mill keeper's house & mill c.1972

1800: Mill built

c.1972: Cap and windshaft with canister still in situ. Fanstage also intact but without the fan

c.1972: Mill house used for holiday accommodation

July 1985: Recorded that the mill had been converted into accommodation


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 587564 or

Nat Grid Ref TG405141  

Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2006
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