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High Mill worked as major tower mill
The twelve-storey Southtown High Mill operated as a large corn mill and carried a lantern used as a lighthouse.
Site overview
Great Yarmouth Southtown High Mill, also known as Press's Mill, was an exceptionally large tower mill in Southtown. It rose to twelve storeys including its ogee cap and lantern, and was about 122 feet high to the top of the lantern. The lantern served as a lighthouse, making the mill both an industrial and navigational landmark.
At ground level the tower was reported with a base diameter of about 40 to 46 feet and walls about three feet thick. Its scale allowed carts to load inside the tower. The mill worked as a corn mill and was one of the most prominent windmills associated with Great Yarmouth.
The identified sources establish its great scale and working character, but the present record is limited on final demolition chronology.
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
Great Yarmouth Southtown High Mill stood in Southtown and was often known as High Mill or Press's Mill. It was one of the tallest windmills ever built in Europe, rising to twelve storeys including its ogee cap. The full height to the top of its 20-foot lantern was about 122 feet.
The lantern was installed to act as a lighthouse, adding a navigational function to the mill's industrial role. The base of the tower was extremely large, with an outside diameter reported at about 40 feet, and also elsewhere at 46 feet, and walls about three feet thick. The tower was large enough for carts to drive into the mill and load inside.
It worked as a corn mill and became one of the major lost landmarks of the Great Yarmouth milling landscape. The sources identified for this record give the mill's scale, alternative name, and distinctive lantern arrangement, but they do not provide a complete sequence for its construction, later operating history, cessation of work, or demolition within the searched material.
Timeline
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High Mill recorded as lost landmark
The site is recorded as the former position of one of Great Yarmouth's largest tower mills.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Great Yarmouth Southtown High Mill tower windmill
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk
List of windmills in Norfolk
WindmillWorld county list: Windmills of Norfolk
List of windmills in Norfolk