1847
Post mill built
Holt Heath post mill and Heath House were built by Alexander and Thomas Boyd.
Site overview
Holt Heath post mill stood on the east side of Hunworth Road. It was built by Alexander and Thomas Boyd in 1847 along with Heath House, whose chimney bears a datestone of the same year. The mill stood above a three-storey roundhouse, 18 feet high and 24 feet in diameter, with 14-foot piers.
It used two pairs of patent sails to drive two pairs of French burr stones and had a fantail. The Holt Lodge Estate sale notices of 1854 described the windmill as fitted with patent sails and self-winding apparatus and placed over a brick roundhouse containing two floors and a wheat chamber. The mill ceased working around 1883.
By 1984 the roundhouse and piers survived but were overgrown, and partial clearance was recorded in 2007.
Map
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History
Holt Heath post mill stood on the east side of Hunworth Road. It was built in 1847 by Alexander and Thomas Boyd at the same time as Heath House, whose chimney carries a datestone of that year. The mill stood on a large three-storey roundhouse, 18 feet high and 24 feet in diameter, with 14-foot piers.
This roundhouse was recorded as the second highest known in Norfolk, exceeded only by Swanton Morley. The mill was fitted with two pairs of patent sails driving two pairs of French burr stones and had a fantail. In 1854 the Holt Lodge Estate was advertised with the recently built Heath House, the windmill, a brick kiln, eight cottages, and 594 acres.
The sale description stated that the windmill had patent sails, self-winding apparatus, two pairs of French stones, and a brick roundhouse containing two floors and a wheat chamber. William Daplyn was recorded as miller in the later 1850s and 1860s, and the mill was still shown on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map. It ceased working around 1883.
In 1971 John Watson bought Heath House. By 1984 the roundhouse and piers remained but were very overgrown and hidden in trees, and by 2007 the roundhouse had been partly cleared.
Timeline
1854
Mill advertised with Holt Lodge Estate
The windmill was advertised with patent sails, self-winding apparatus, two pairs of French stones, and a brick roundhouse containing two floors and a wheat chamber.
1883
Mill ceased working
The post mill ceased working around 1883.
1984
Roundhouse and piers survived
The roundhouse and piers remained but were very overgrown and hidden within trees.
2007
Roundhouse partly cleared
The surviving roundhouse was partially cleared.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Holt Heath post windmill
WindmillWorld entry: Holt windmill
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk
WindmillWorld entry: Holt windmill
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk