1747
Drainage mill built
St Margaret's drainage mill at Burgh St Margaret was built around 1747.
Site overview
The coordinates identify St Margaret's drainage mill at Burgh St Margaret, also known as Fleggburgh, rather than Berney Arms Windmill. St Margaret's drainage mill was built around 1747 and worked as a marsh drainage mill. It had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap with a petticoat and an eight-bladed fantail.
The scoop wheel beside the mill was powered by four double-shuttered sails. The mill had ceased pumping by 1960. Later photographic records show the mill in the 1920s and again in the 1970s, confirming its survival into the later twentieth century.
The available sources give structural and functional detail, but do not provide a full ownership sequence.
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
St Margaret's drainage mill stood at Burgh St Margaret, also known as Fleggburgh. It was built around 1747 as a drainage mill for the surrounding marshland. The mill had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap with a petticoat and an eight-bladed fantail, and its scoop wheel stood beside the mill.
Four double-shuttered sails supplied the power for the scoop wheel. Photographic captions record the mill working with sails in the 1920s. By 1960 the mill had ceased pumping.
Later photographs from 1973 and 1977 document its post-working survival. The consulted sources identify the site as St Margaret's drainage mill at Burgh St Margaret, not Berney Arms Windmill, which lies elsewhere in the Broads.
Timeline
1923–1926
Mill photographed working
Photographic records show the drainage mill with sails working during the 1920s.
1960
Pumping ceased by 1960
The mill had ceased pumping operations by 1960.
1973–1977
Later survival photographed
The mill was photographed in post-working condition in the 1970s.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills entry for Burgh St Margaret St Margaret's drainage mill
Windmill World entry for Burgh St Margaret windmill
Windmill World entry for Burgh St Margaret windmill