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Derelict tower survives
The derelict tower survives beside the River Bure as an early brick-built drainage-mill structure.
Site overview
Oby Mill, also known as Wiseman's Mill or Upper Davey's Drainage Mill, stands beside the River Bure in Ashby with Oby. It was built in 1753 and is one of the oldest surviving drainage mills in Broadland. The four-storey red-brick tower belonged to the Wyndeham Cremer family on the Oby Manor House Estate and was tenant farmed by the Wiseman family from before 1836 to after 1937.
The mill served both drainage and saw-mill functions. It was later modernised, but wind power was replaced by diesel power in 1933 and the sails were removed. The surviving structure is a derelict tower mill, retaining the evidence of an unusually early brick drainage mill on the Norfolk Broads.
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
Oby Mill was built beside the River Bure in the combined parish of Ashby with Oby. The four-storey red-brick tower was constructed in 1753, a date once recorded by a datestone in the tower structure. The mill was on the Oby Manor House Estate and belonged to the Wyndeham Cremer family.
It was tenant farmed by the Wiseman family from before 1836 until after 1937, which led to the alternative name Wiseman's Mill. It is also recorded as Upper Davey's Drainage Mill. The mill had a dual role as a drainage and saw mill, making it more complex than a simple marsh pump.
It is described as one of the oldest surviving drainage mills in Broadland and one of the early brick-built drainage mills on the Broads. The mill was later modernised. In 1933 wind power was replaced by diesel power, and the sails were removed when the diesel engine took over the turbine.
The tower remains as a derelict drainage-mill structure beside the river, preserving the shell of an eighteenth-century working mill that combined marsh drainage with saw-mill use.
Timeline
1753
Oby Mill built
The four-storey red-brick drainage and saw mill was built beside the River Bure.
1836–1937
Wiseman family tenancy recorded
The Wiseman family tenant farmed the Oby Manor House Estate mill from before 1836 to after 1937.
1933
Diesel power replaced wind
Wind power was replaced by diesel power and the sails were removed.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: Ashby Oby drainage and saw windmill
Norfolk Heritage Explorer: Oby, Wiseman's or Upper Davey's Drainage Mill
Windmill World entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Mills Archive entry: Clippesby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Norfolk Heritage Explorer: Oby, Wiseman's or Upper Davey's Drainage Mill
Windmill World entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Mills Archive entry: Clippesby Mill, Ashby with Oby