1826
Post mill and tower mill mapped
A post mill and tower mill were both shown at Long Stratton Mills by 1826.
Site overview
The surviving tower mill at Stratton St Michael forms part of the Long Stratton Mills site. A post mill and tower mill were both shown here by 1826, and the brick tower mill is described as a late eighteenth-century structure. The post mill was demolished in the 1870s, while the tower mill continued in use into the late 1920s.
The surviving tower has lost its working windmill apparatus but remains an identifiable part of the former milling complex. Later records place the tower within the factory area of Basil L. Leeder and Sons Ltd, indicating continued industrial use of the wider site after wind-powered milling had ended. Details of the tower's original machinery and exact construction date remain limited in the identified sources.
Map
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
The Stratton St Michael tower mill is associated with the Long Stratton Mills site, where both a post mill and a tower mill were shown by the early nineteenth century. The tower mill is described as a brick structure of late eighteenth-century date, while Bryant's map of 1826 shows both the post mill and the tower mill at the site. The post mill was demolished in the 1870s, leaving the tower mill as the principal windmill structure at the complex.
The tower mill remained in use into the late 1920s. The surviving structure later stood within the factory area of Basil L. Leeder and Sons Ltd, whose wider milling activity continued on the site. The available records do not give a full machinery inventory or a precise date for the removal of cap, sails, or internal working gear, but they do establish the tower as a surviving remnant of the Long Stratton Mills wind-powered phase.
Timeline
1870–1879
Post mill demolished
The post mill at the Long Stratton Mills site was demolished during the 1870s.
1920–1929
Tower mill still in use
The brick tower mill remained in use into the late 1920s.
2026
Tower survives in factory area
The surviving tower stands in the factory area of Basil L. Leeder and Sons Ltd.
Sources and records
Norfolk Heritage Explorer record: Post-medieval tower mill, Long Stratton Mills
WindmillWorld entry: Stratton St Michael tower mill
WindmillWorld entry: Stratton St Michael tower mill