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Cadge's Mill built
The drainage mill was built on Reedham Marshes as one of a group of three mills with North Mill and Polkey's Mill.
Site overview
Cadge's Drainage Mill stands on Reedham Marshes beside the River Yare. It was one of an open group of three drainage mills with North Mill and Polkey's Mill, built to lift water from the marshes into the river. The mill had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap and patent sails driving a scoop wheel housed inside its unusually large tower.
A fireplace was also built into the tower. In 1881 John Rose commissioned Reedham Marsh Steam Engine House so that a coal-fired steam engine could drive a turbine when there was not enough wind for the mills. The Reedham Marshes group later became a preserved drainage-mill landscape.
Cadge's Mill forms part of the Reedham Marshes mills cared for by Norfolk County Council, with the restored tower retaining its visual relationship with Polkey's Mill and the engine house.
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
Cadge's Drainage Mill was built on Reedham Marshes on the north side of the River Yare. It formed part of a group of three drainage mills with North Mill and Polkey's Mill, all built to raise water from the marshes into the river. The mill had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap and used patent sails to power a scoop wheel.
The scoop wheel was built inside the larger than normal tower, and the tower also incorporated a fireplace. The working group was later supplemented by steam power. In 1881 the landowner John Rose commissioned Richard Barnes to build Reedham Marsh Steam Engine House, where a single-cylinder horizontal coal-fired steam engine drove a turbine when there was insufficient wind for the mills.
This made the drainage system less dependent on wind alone. The Reedham Marshes mills later ceased their original drainage role and became part of a preserved riverside industrial landscape. Cadge's Mill now survives as one of the Reedham Marshes drainage mills, standing close to Polkey's Mill and the steam engine house beside the Yare.
Timeline
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Scoop wheel drainage
Patent sails drove a scoop wheel housed inside the larger than normal tower.
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Reedham Marshes mills preserved
Cadge's Mill survives within the preserved Reedham Marshes drainage-mill group beside the River Yare.
1881
Steam engine house commissioned
John Rose commissioned Richard Barnes to build Reedham Marsh Steam Engine House to provide turbine pumping when wind was insufficient.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: Reedham Cadge's drainage windmill
Norfolk County Council: Reedham Marshes mills
Windmill World entry: Reedham Marshes tower mill
Norfolk County Council: Reedham Marshes mills
Windmill World entry: Reedham Marshes tower mill