1767
Double-seated windmill advertised
The Acle windmill was advertised for sale as a very good double-seated windmill with all materials belonging to it.
Site overview
Acle post mill was a wind-powered corn mill recorded from the eighteenth century. It was advertised in 1767 as a very good double-seated windmill with all materials belonging to it, and again as a windmill with two pairs of stones in good repair. In 1768 it was advertised as a double windmill well situated for retail business, together with four acres of freehold land near the mill.
In 1770 a Sun Fire Insurance policy insured John Bane of Acle on his windmill only, with the policy endorsed to John Gambling of Sepingham as mortgagee. Later records connect John Bean or Bane with the mill. The available evidence establishes the mill as an eighteenth-century post mill site, but no surviving mill structure or machinery is identified.
Map
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No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
Acle post mill was recorded in the second half of the eighteenth century as a wind-powered corn mill. In September 1767 it was advertised for sale as a very good double-seated windmill at Acle, with all materials belonging to it, and enquiries were directed to William Botwright, miller at Acle. A second notice in October 1767 described a windmill with two pairs of stones and all the materials in good repair.
Further sale notices in April and May 1768 described a double windmill well situated for business in the retail way, with all appurtenances in good repair, standing at Acle, together with four acres of freehold land lying near the mill. In January 1770 a Sun Fire Insurance policy insured John Bane of Acle, miller, on his windmill only in Acle for £100, with the policy endorsed to John Gambling of Sepingham as mortgagee. John Bean's will was dated 7 January 1782 and proved at Norwich on 19 January 1790.
The available record is concentrated on sale notices, insurance and ownership references. It does not identify a surviving windshaft or standing structure, so the site is best treated as a recorded former post mill location rather than an extant mill.
Timeline
1767
Two-pair mill advertised
The mill was advertised as a windmill with two pairs of stones and all materials in good repair.
1768
Double windmill and land offered
The mill was advertised as a double windmill well situated for retail business, with four acres of freehold land near the mill.
1770
Windmill insured
John Bane of Acle insured his windmill only for £100 under a Sun Fire Insurance policy.
1782
John Bean will dated
John Bean's will was dated 7 January 1782.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: Acle post mill
Norwich Mercury sale notices
Sun Fire Insurance policy record
John Bean will reference
Norwich Mercury sale notices
Sun Fire Insurance policy record
John Bean will reference