1733–1753
Oby Mill built
The tower carries an early date, with consulted sources giving 1733 or 1753 for construction.
Site overview
Oby Mill, also known as Wiseman's Mill, is a four-storey red-brick drainage and saw mill beside the River Bure in Ashby with Oby. It stood on the Oby Manor House Estate, owned by the Wyndeham Cremer family and tenant-farmed by the Wiseman family from before 1836 until after 1937. The mill is recorded as one of the oldest surviving drainage mills in Broadland, with a date set into the tower and construction attributed to the mid eighteenth century.
Its sails powered both a scoop wheel and a sawbench used for estate work. By the early twentieth century an auxiliary engine and turbine assisted drainage. The sails were taken down in 1933, and the machinery shed later became derelict.
In 2008 the Grade II* listed mill was sold at auction, and in 2018 a restoration project began with The Missing Kind, the Broads Authority, and Norwich City College.
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 stands beside the River Bure in Ashby with Oby and is also known as Wiseman's Mill. It was a four-storey red-brick drainage and saw mill on the Oby Manor House Estate, which belonged to the Wyndeham Cremer family. The Wiseman family tenant-farmed the estate from before 1836 until after 1937, and the mill became closely associated with that family.
The mill was almost certainly built in the mid eighteenth century, with a date set into the tower. The Norfolk Mills chronology records the date as 1733, while other source summaries identify the mill as built in 1753; the exact interpretation of the tower date therefore differs between the consulted records. The mill used wind power for marsh drainage and estate work.
Its sails drove a scoop wheel and also powered a sawbench, probably for estate timber rather than commercial sawmilling. The mill had two pairs of patent sails, a boat-shaped cap with a petticoat, and a six-bladed fan. A 1905 sale notice for the Manor House Estate described a brick tower windmill with a portable engine in a shed used as an auxiliary, driving a powerful turbine and draining the farm marshes and about 300 acres.
In 1933 the mill was being run by H. Davey, and the Davey family had been associated with its operation for about a century. The same account records that an auxiliary engine also drove a turbine when required. The sails were taken down in 1933.
By 2008 the mill was described as Grade II* listed and in a tired condition, with the machinery shed derelict and the former marshman's cottage reduced to remains. Norfolk Windmills Trust hoped to buy the mill for restoration as a working heritage attraction, but it was sold at auction to Adam Whiting for £41,500. Later sale particulars described it as an unconverted former Broadland drainage mill with surviving tower, adjacent building, and former cottage footings.
In autumn 2018 The Missing Kind, working with the Broads Authority and Norwich City College, began a restoration project at the mill.
Timeline
1797
Obey Drain Mill mapped
Faden's map recorded the mill as Obey Drain Mill.
1836–1937
Wiseman tenancy associated with mill
The Wiseman family tenant-farmed the Oby Manor House Estate from before 1836 until after 1937, giving rise to the name Wiseman's Mill.
1905
Estate sale notice described machinery
A sale notice described a brick tower windmill with auxiliary portable engine and turbine draining the marshes.
1933
Sails taken down
The sails were removed, ending the mill's landmark appearance under wind power.
2008
Grade II* listed mill sold
The Grade II* listed mill was sold at auction after Norfolk Windmills Trust was outbid.
2018
Restoration project began
The Missing Kind, with the Broads Authority and Norwich City College, began a restoration project at the mill.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Ashby Oby drainage and saw mill
Windmill World entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Mills Archive entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Ariadne heritage record: Oby Mill
Eastern Daily Press reports reproduced by Norfolk Mills
Windmill World entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Mills Archive entry: Oby Mill, Ashby with Oby
Ariadne heritage record: Oby Mill
Eastern Daily Press reports reproduced by Norfolk Mills