Hingham Mill Corner Tower Mill Hingham · Norfolk · England

Hingham Mill Corner towermill stood in a small yard by the road and was built of tarred red brick for Philip Pitts in 1829. The date was recorded on a datestone inscribed PP 1829. The mill was six storeys high and ran three pairs of stones. Four double-shuttered sails, each with eight bays of three shutters, were struck by chain pole. The boat-shaped cap had a petticoat and gallery, and the fanstage carried a six-bladed fan with a cradle underneath. A stage was set against the second floor.

The 1841 tithe map and 1842 tithe award recorded Philip Pitt as owner and occupier of land associated with the mill. Pigot's 1830 directory listed Philip Pitts as baker and corn miller, and White's directories recorded him as miller and baker in 1836 and 1845. Philip Pitts died on 27 October 1846. George Waller Pitts was later recorded as miller and baker, and newspaper notices in the 1860s show the continued combined milling and baking business. In March 1861 lightning struck the top sail and travelled along the iron shaft to the sack tackling, but the people inside were unharmed and the mill and machinery were not damaged.

In 1885 the mill was advertised for sale under mortgagees' instructions. The sale notice described a lofty and substantially built brick tower windmill of six storeys, driving three pairs of stones, with yard, garden, cottage and premises. The mill was in good repair, the sails were in capital order and a new stock had just been put up. William Samuel Barber was tenant miller in 1885 and was listed as a wind miller in 1892 and as wind and steam miller in 1896, 1900 and 1904. Robert John Watling was listed in 1908 as miller using wind and gas, and William Thomas Winckles was listed similarly in 1912. By 1916 Richard Long was listed as miller using oil power, and James Long was recorded in the 1920s as corn and flour merchant and miller using oil and wind.

The mill's working equipment was dismantled in 1925-26 by Martins, millwrights of Beccles. It was recorded as derelict in 1926, and the sails and fantail were removed around 1928. A 1932 photograph showed the cap and gallery still in place but no sails or fantail. By 1938 the tower had no cap, sails or fantail but was still working via an oil engine. After the sails had been removed, a store was built against the side of the tower. In 1973 the tower was reduced by two floors. In 1990 the mill tower was derelict, with scars of stage supports and the external pulley for auxiliary power still in place. In 2005 the tower was still standing with four floors.