1912
Ashtree Farm mill built
Thomas Smithdale and Son of Acle built the drainage mill for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on the site of an earlier mill.
Site overview
Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill stands on the south side of the River Bure near Great Yarmouth. It was built in 1912 by Thomas Smithdale and Son of Acle for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, on the site of an earlier mill. The area was known as Nowhere and had been annexed to Acle parish in 1862.
The three-storey black-tarred red-brick tower had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap, fantail and tailpole, with a 15-foot scoop wheel set against the side of the tower. It was one of the last drainage mills built in the Broads and became the last to work by wind. Storm damage in 1953 put it out of action.
After years of dereliction, it was restored between 2003 and 2006.
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
Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill was built in 1912 on the south side of the River Bure in an area known as Nowhere, west of Great Yarmouth. The locality had been officially annexed to Acle parish in 1862. Thomas Smithdale and Son of Acle built the mill for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners on the site of an earlier drainage mill.
The structure was a three-storey black-tarred red-brick tower with a base diameter of 14 feet. It stood 26 feet to the curb and 34 feet to the top of the Norfolk boat-shaped cap. The cap carried both a fantail and a tailpole.
The tower had two opposite ground-floor doors and two first-floor windows, and a 15-foot scoop wheel was set against the side of the tower. The mill was one of the last drainage mills to be built in the Broads. From 1948 it became the only Broads drainage mill still working by wind.
It was abandoned in 1953 after the storm preceding the East Coast Floods damaged it. After a long derelict period, restoration took place between 2003 and 2006, with new cap and sails recorded in September 2006.
Timeline
1948
Last wind-working Broads drainage mill
From 1948 the mill became the only Broads drainage mill still working by wind.
1953
Storm damage ended work
The mill was abandoned after storm damage associated with the weather preceding the East Coast Floods.
2003–2006
Restoration completed
The derelict mill was restored, with new cap and sails recorded during the restoration programme.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills: Acle Ashtree Farm drainage windmill
Norfolk County Council: Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill
Norfolk Heritage Explorer: Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill
Water, Mills and Marshes article on Broads mills
Windmill World entry: Ashtree Farm drainage mill
Norfolk County Council: Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill
Norfolk Heritage Explorer: Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill
Water, Mills and Marshes article on Broads mills
Windmill World entry: Ashtree Farm drainage mill