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Record Details

NHER Number:4714
Type of record:Building
Name:Little Cressingham Mill

Summary

This combined wind and watermill is a unique type in Norfolk. It was built in 1821 and lies on the site of an earlier watermill marked on Faden's 1797 map. A waterwheel turned 2 pairs of stones on the first floor whilst the sails turned two pairs of stones on the fourth floor. There is a decorative pump house on the site (NHER 44324) built around 1806 that housed a Bramah pump and later 2 hydraulic rams which were used to raise water to Clermont Lodge (NHER 4721). There is also a 19th century Miller's House (NHER 61972) adjacent to the mill. The mill last worked by windpower in 1916 though it continued by waterpower and an oil engine into the 1950s. The site (excluding the mill house) is managed by the Norfolk Windmill Trust. Restoration work was carried out during the 1980s and 1990s.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TF 8698 0021
Map Sheet:TF80SE
Parish:LITTLE CRESSINGHAM, BRECKLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Site of windmill. See (S1).
Windmill 1821 and very important pumping station.
Listed grade II*.

The former miller's house previously recorded under this number is now recorded under NHER 61972.
H. Hamilton (HES), 15 March 2017.

A series of photographs of the Freestone/Bowman family, the last millers, at the mill and millhouse dating from 1911 to the 1930s. Shows the mill with and without sails. See (S2).
A. Rix (HES), 15 May 2012.

1937 photograph of the mill with cap but without sails. See (S3).
A. Rix (HES), 15 May 2012.

Oblique aerial photograph of the site showing the mill without cap and sails and the range of outbuildings, now demolished. The photograph is dated to between 1940-1975. See (S4).
A. Rix (HES), 5 March 2013.

1981-1982
Photographic record of the mill prior to repair. See (S5) and (S6).
Start of a 10-year plan of restoration for the mill. See (S7).
Series of photographs showing the early stages of repair dated to the early 1980s. (S8).
Photograph of the mill after some repairs completed. See (S9).
Newspaper article on work carried out by Duke of Edinburgh Award volunteers. See (S10).
A.Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

Some detailed history of the mill. See (S11) for more details.
A. Rix (HES), 15 May 2012.

1987-1989
Newspaper articles. Miller's house and mill for sale for £65,000. See (S12).
Mill named after ex-chairman. See (S13).
Details the efforts of the volunteers and Norfolk Windmills Trust to restore the mill. See (S14).
Call for new volunteers to help with the restoration. See (S14).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

1990
Newspaper articles on further push to restore the mill with help from Eastern Electricity. See (S14 and S15).
Series of photographs showing Eastern Electricity workers carrying out repairs to the footbridges. See (S16).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

Newspaper article calling for more volunteers to help open the mill. See (S14).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

Architects drawings (pre 1992) as large rolled plans. See (S17).
E. Rose (NLA).

1992. Photographic record of the mill. See (S18).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

2000. A series of photographs of the mill and high water levels. See (S19).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

Some detailed history of the mill. See (S20) and (S21).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

This six storey unusual wind and watermill is on the site of an earlier watermill marked on Faden's map of Norfolk made in 1797. The wind and watermill was built around 1820 and was last used in 1929. A waterwheel turned a pair of stones on the first floor whilst the sails turned two pairs of stones on the fourth floor. The mill was restored in the 1980s and 1990s. There is also a disused pump house used to raise water for Clermont Hall and a 19th century Miller's House.
2007

See also NIAS survey in records. See (S22)
W. Arnold (HES) 22/12/2010

Photographs of the mill taken during a visit by Norman Bowman (his Aunt was the last Miller in 1952 and he worked at the mill as a boy) and his daughter Diane Wilkes. See (S23).
A. Rix (HES), 13 June 2012.

Monument Types

  • PUMPING STATION (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • WATERCOURSE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • WATERMILL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • CORN MILL (19th Century to 21st Century - 1821 AD to 2100 AD)
  • WINDMILL (19th Century to 21st Century - 1821 AD to 2100 AD)

Associated Finds - none

Protected Status

  • Listed Building

Sources and further reading

---Aerial Photograph: TF8601 A-B; TF8701 A-D.
---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TF 80 SE 29 [3].
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Monograph: Pevsner, N and Wilson, W. 1999. Norfolk 2: North-West and South. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 520.
---Monograph: Apling, H.. 1984. Norfolk Corn Windmills. Vol I.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>Publication: Faden, W. and Barringer, J. C. 1989. Faden's Map of Norfolk in 1797.
<S2>Photograph: 1911-1930s. [unknown]. black and white copies.
<S3>Photograph: Hallam Ashley. 1937. Little Cressingham, Norfolk. Black and white.
<S4>Oblique Aerial Photograph: Skyviews and General ?. Oblique Aerial Photograph of Little Cressingham Mill.
<S5>Photograph: 1981. Photographic record of Little Cressingham Mill - Before restoration. Print.
<S6>Photograph: early 1980s. Little Cressingham. Colour.
<S7>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1981. 10-year plan under way to restore rare mill. 9 July.
<S8>Photograph: c1981. Photographic record of Little Cressingham Mill. Print, b&w.
<S9>Photograph: Hallam Ashley. c1981. Little Cressingham, Norfolk. Print, b&w.
<S10>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1982. Young shoulders to wheel at mill. 18 October.
<S12>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1987. Near Broad and Breck. 20 March.
<S13>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1988. Mill named after ex-chairman. 4 April.
<S14>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1989-1992. [Articles on the restoration work at Little Cressingham Mill].
<S15>Newspaper Article: Lynn News. 1990. Mill's bonus. 22 May.
<S16>Photograph: 1990?. Little Cressingham. Print, b&w.
<S17>*Rolled Plan: Large Plan Exists.
<S18>Photograph: 1992. Photographic record of Little Cressingham Mill. Print.
<S19>Photograph: 2000. Photographic record of Little Cressingham Mill. print, colour.
<S20>Website: Neville, J.. 2003. Little Cressingham Mill, Watton Brook. http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/lt-cressingham.html. 25 June 2010.
<S21>Monograph: Smith, A.. 1982. Corn windmills in Norfolk: a contemporary survey.. pp 23, 41.
<S22>Archive: NIAS. Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society Records.
<S23>Photograph: Diane Bowman. 2006. Photographic record of Little Cressingham Mill. Print.

Related records

44324Related to: Bramah Pump House, Fairstead Lane (Building)
61972Related to: Miller's House, Fairstead Lane, Little Cressingham (Building)

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