1880
Smock drainage pump built
The smock drainage pump was built beside the River Bure by England's of Ludham around 1880.
Site overview
Horning Ferry smock drainage pump was built beside the River Bure around 1880 by England's of Ludham. The original structure was a tarred weatherboarded smock with a white cap and double-shuttered sails, and it became a well-known riverside landmark. After pumping ceased, the mill was converted into a dwelling in 1935 by H. P. E. Neave.
The conversion substantially altered the appearance of the structure, adding a flared, Dutch-like upper section over a boarded single-storey base. The boat-shaped cap later held four dummy sails and a fantail. The site remains an example of a former Broads drainage windpump adapted to domestic use rather than preserved as a working pumping mill.
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
Horning Ferry smock drainage pump stood on the bank of the River Bure at Horning Ferry. It was built around 1880 by England's of Ludham and was originally a tarred weatherboarded smock drainage pump with a white cap and double-shuttered sails. Its position by the river made it a familiar Broads landmark.
The mill was recorded in early twentieth-century photographs and appeared as a windpump on the 1905 Ordnance Survey map. After its pumping life ended, it was converted into a dwelling by H. P. E. Neave in 1935. The conversion changed the structure considerably, so that the present building no longer closely resembles the original drainage pump.
Its later form has a flared upper section of vaguely Dutch appearance set over a boarded single-storey base. The boat-shaped cap carries four dummy sails and a fantail. The surviving building therefore records the site of a late nineteenth-century smock drainage pump, but its present appearance is largely the result of domestic conversion.
Timeline
1905
Windpump mapped
The drainage pump was shown on the 1905 Ordnance Survey map.
1935
Mill converted into dwelling
The former drainage pump was converted into a dwelling by H. P. E. Neave.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Horning Ferry drainage windmill
Norfolk Heritage Explorer record: Ferry Mill, Horning
WindmillWorld county list: Drainage windmills of Norfolk
Norfolk Heritage Explorer record: Ferry Mill, Horning
WindmillWorld county list: Drainage windmills of Norfolk