This beautiful old watermill was literally about a mile down the road from where we recently stayed in Burnham Market, Norfolk.
The present structure which is on the River Burn was originally built in 1790 by Edmund Savory who was a tenant on the Walpole Estate. He had already built the mill bridge in the previous year and incorporated date stones into both structures. In common with many mills, the course of the river was altered to provide a mill dam of sufficient size and also to place the mill in flood free accessible environment. The new cut that was dug for the mill was tidal until before the second world war, with the surge being controlled by a sluice about a mile downstream. The tidal effect was lost when Burnham Norgate marshes were drained.
By the 1880s the waterwheel drove 3 pairs of stones and was supplemented by a 16hp condensing steam beam engine powered by a Cornish boiler that drove a further 4 sets of stones.
The Grade II-listed property is owned by the National Trust, and has been converted into holiday accommodation.
Posted by Baz Richardson – often away on 2022-04-22 08:00:19
Tagged: , Norfolk , watermills , Burnham Overy Lower Mill , Grade II-listed buildings, National Trust , National Trust