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Tower mill built at Silfield
The five-storey tarred brick tower mill was built on Burnthouse Lane, close to the earlier Silfield post mill.
Site overview
Silfield tower mill was a five-storey tarred brick corn mill on the south side of Burnthouse Lane, close to the earlier Silfield post mill. The compact tower stood about 36 feet high and drove two pairs of underdriven stones. Surviving internal descriptions record an empty shell with some beams, a 17-foot internal ground-floor diameter, thick brick walls, multiple floors and underdriven stone arrangement.
The mill had gone out of action by about 1911. In 1979 the old mill tower formed part of a property at Silfield, and a planning notice recorded proposals to convert the derelict listed tower into a residence. By the early 1980s the conversion had been carried out, with roof treatment, internal staircase, services and altered openings.
The tower therefore survives as a converted former windmill rather than an operating mill.
Map
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No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Silfield tower mill stood on the south side of Burnthouse Lane at the bottom of a short loke, close to the older Silfield post mill. It was a relatively small five-storey tarred brick tower, about 36 feet high, and its sails powered two pairs of underdriven stones. Internal notes describe the tower as an empty shell apart from some beams, with a ground-floor internal diameter of 17 feet and walls about 18 inches thick.
The arrangement of floors, windows and beams reflected the use of underdriven stones, with insufficient space for the usual overdriven arrangement of spur wheel and quants. A local history reference stated that Henry Jermyns' mill in Silfield had gone out of action about thirty-eight years before 1949, placing the end of work at about 1911. In 1979 the mill tower was advertised as part of a five-acre property at Silfield, close to Wymondham.
Later the same year a planning notice recorded an application to convert the derelict listed tower into a residence. The conversion was recorded in the early 1980s. The tower was treated with a black protective coating, roofed with flat boards and tarred felt, and fitted internally with a spiral iron staircase, toilets and heating.
A porch was added to the front door and an extension was built at the rear where a door replaced a window. The surviving structure is therefore a converted former corn mill tower, retaining the main masonry shell of the historic mill.
Timeline
1911
Mill out of action
A local history reference indicates that the mill had gone out of action by about 1911.
1979
Tower included in property sale
The old mill tower was advertised as part of a five-acre property at Silfield.
1979
Residential conversion proposed
A planning notice recorded proposals to convert the derelict listed tower into a residence.
1981
Conversion recorded
The converted tower had roof treatment, internal staircase, heating, toilets and altered openings.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: Silfield towermill
Windmill World entry: Silfield Mill, Wymondham
Wymondham Old & New local history reference
Windmill World entry: Silfield Mill, Wymondham
Wymondham Old & New local history reference