1850–1869
Drainage mill built
The drainage mill was built in the mid nineteenth century beside a dyke at Horsey Mere.
Site overview
Horsey drainage mill was a four-storey red-brick tower windpump standing near the road beside a dyke at Horsey Mere. It was built in the mid nineteenth century and rebuilt in 1897 by England's of Ludham. The rebuilt mill had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap with petticoat, gallery, and four patent sails driving a turbine.
It formed part of the drainage system around Horsey Mere, separate from the later and larger National Trust Horsey Windpump. The mill was photographed around 1911 and later lost its working wind gear. The surviving record identifies the site as a drainage-mill tower with wind-powered turbine machinery, though the final working date and later sequence of decay are not fully established.
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
Horsey drainage mill stood near the road beside a dyke at Horsey Mere. It was built in the mid nineteenth century as a wind-powered drainage pump, serving the marshland drainage landscape around Horsey rather than grinding grain. In 1897 the mill was rebuilt by England's of Ludham as a four-storey red-brick tower windpump.
The rebuilt structure had a Norfolk boat-shaped cap, petticoat, gallery, and four patent sails. The sails powered a turbine, marking it as a drainage pump rather than a scoop-wheel mill in the recorded form. The mill was photographed around 1911.
It should be distinguished from the present Horsey Windpump, which was built in 1912 on the foundations of Horsey Black Mill and later passed into National Trust care. The evidence for this site confirms the mid nineteenth-century origin, the 1897 rebuilding, the wind-powered turbine arrangement, and the survival of the tower as a drainage-mill remnant, but it does not provide a secure final working date.
Timeline
1897
Mill rebuilt by England's of Ludham
The mill was rebuilt as a four-storey red-brick tower windpump with patent sails driving a turbine.
1911
Drainage mill photographed
The Horsey drainage mill was photographed around 1911.
Sources and records
Norfolk Mills page: Horsey drainage windmill
List of drainage windmills in Norfolk
WindmillWorld county list: Drainage windmills of Norfolk
List of drainage windmills in Norfolk
WindmillWorld county list: Drainage windmills of Norfolk