1800–1836
Tower mill built and enlarged
The red-brick tower mill was built in the early nineteenth century and had gained a sixth storey by 1836.
Site overview
Foulsham tower mill was a red-brick corn mill built in the early nineteenth century. It was originally five storeys high, with a stage at the second floor, but had gained a sixth storey by 1836. Four double-shuttered sails powered three pairs of French burr stones, two flour mills, a sifter, patent smut machine, and jumper.
Steam power was added to the site, first with a five-horsepower engine and later with a ten-horsepower fixed engine. The mill continued through a long sequence of nineteenth-century millers and was still associated with wind and steam milling into the early twentieth century. Fire destroyed the windmill in 1912.
By 1979 the tower had been reduced to three storeys and roofed, and by the 1990s it had become part of a modern dwelling.
Map
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No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Foulsham tower mill was built of red brick in the early 1800s. It was first a five-storey mill with a stage at the second floor, but a sixth storey had been added by 1836. The mill had a horizontally boarded dome-shaped cap with a petticoat, gallery, and six-bladed fan.
Four double-shuttered sails, each with eleven bays of two shutters, drove three pairs of French burr stones, two flour mills, a sifter, a patent smut machine, and jumper. The wider site included a two-horse dressing mill and a baking office. In 1836 the property was advertised with a 269-year unexpired lease, dwelling house, baking office, granary, stables, wagon lodge, and a newly erected five-horsepower steam engine.
By 1863 the steam engine could also power the mill if required, and by 1881 the auxiliary engine had been replaced or upgraded to a fixed ten-horsepower high-pressure expansive and condensing engine. The mill remained active through several nineteenth-century tenancies and sale notices. In 1912 fire destroyed the wind-powered structure, bringing down the sails.
Milling later continued by steam and then oil engine, with oil-powered milling reported to have ceased in 1929. By 1979 the tower had been reduced by three floors, leaving a 28-foot structure with a conical or slate roof. The steam mill had been demolished by 1986, and by the 1990s the remaining tower had become part of a modern private dwelling.
Timeline
1836
Mill advertised with steam engine
The mill was advertised with three pairs of French stones, two flour mills, a machine and jumper, six floors, a horse dressing mill, granary, baking office, and five-horsepower steam engine.
1863
Steam power available for milling
The steam engine could power the mill when required.
1881
Ten-horsepower steam engine recorded
A fixed ten-horsepower high-pressure expansive and condensing steam engine was recorded on the site.
1912
Windmill destroyed by fire
Fire destroyed the windmill and brought down the sails.
1929
Oil-powered milling ceased
Milling by oil engine was reported to have ceased.
1979
Reduced tower recorded
The mill had been reduced by three floors, leaving a 28-foot tower with a conical roof.
1990–1995
Tower incorporated into dwelling
The remaining tower had become part of a modern private residence by the 1990s.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Foulsham tower windmill
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk