1595
First windmill erected
A windmill was erected on the Gallows Pasture site and was quickly removed.
Site overview
The Walk post mills stood at King's Lynn on the Gallows Pasture area near the Millfleet and the South Gates. Two post mills were depicted on William Rastrick's 1725 plan of King's Lynn, and an earlier corn mill was marked on Bell's Groundplat of King's Lynn in 1680. Local historical evidence describes a windmill erected on the spot in 1595 and quickly removed, with another mill raised on the same favourable site in 1667.
The mills also appear in an engraving by J. Bishop from a drawing by John Sell Cotman, where two post mills are visible in the distance. The available evidence establishes the site as an early urban windmill location, but no standing mill structure survives.
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
The Walk post mills at King's Lynn occupied a site connected with the Gallows Pasture area, which stretched from the south side of the Millfleet near the arch on the Walks towards the South Gates. The town ditch, sometimes called the Cockle Dyke, ran nearby, and the area had long-standing local names associated with the former Gallows Pasture and Gallows Hill. A windmill was erected on the spot in 1595, but it was quickly removed.
Another mill was then raised on the same favourable site in 1667. Bell's Groundplat of King's Lynn in 1680 marked a corn mill, and William Rastrick's 1725 plan of King's Lynn depicted two post mills standing side by side at The Walk, with the Millfleet mill shown elsewhere on the same plan. An engraving by J. Bishop from a drawing by John Sell Cotman also shows two post mills in the distance and is associated with an 1819 county account.
The record does not identify a surviving mill body, machinery or later closure sequence. The site is therefore a recorded early post-mill location within the historic urban edge of King's Lynn.
Timeline
1667
Second windmill raised
Another windmill was raised on the same favourable site.
1680
Corn mill mapped
Bell's Groundplat of King's Lynn marked a corn mill at the site.
1725
Two post mills shown
William Rastrick's plan of King's Lynn showed two post mills standing side by side at The Walk.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: King's Lynn The Walk post mills
Henry J. Hillen: History of King's Lynn
Bell's Groundplat of King's Lynn, 1680
William Rastrick's Plan of King's Lynn, 1725
Excursions in the County of Norfolk, 1819
Henry J. Hillen: History of King's Lynn
Bell's Groundplat of King's Lynn, 1680
William Rastrick's Plan of King's Lynn, 1725
Excursions in the County of Norfolk, 1819