Cley Windmill is a
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
tower mill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520
Thi ...
at
Cley next the Sea
Cley next the Sea (, , is a village and civil parish on the River Glaven in England, English county of Norfolk, England, Norfolk, north-west of Holt, Norfolk, Holt and east of Blakeney, Norfolk, Blakeney. The main A149 road, A149 coast road ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
which has been converted to residential accommodation.
History
Cley windmill was built in the early 19th century. It was not marked on William Faden's map of Norfolk published in 1797. The first mention was an advert in the ''Norfolk Chronicle'' of 26 June 1819, where the mill was for sale, described as "newly erected" and in the ownership of the Farthing family. The mill was not sold and remained the property of the Farthing family, until 1875, when Dorothy Farthing, the then owner, died. The mill was bought by the miller, Stephen Barnabas Burroughes. It was worked by the Burroughes family until c. 1912, when the business was transferred to their windmill at
Holt
Holt or holte may refer to:
Natural world
*Holt (den), an otter den
* Holt, an area of woodland
Places Australia
* Holt, Australian Capital Territory
* Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...
.
In 1921, the windmill was sold by the Burroughes brothers to Mrs Sarah Maria Wilson for the sum of £350 and she had the mill converted to a holiday home.
[ The architect responsible for the conversion was Cecil Upcher.]Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Hubert Blount, in 1934. On 31 January 1953, the mill was flooded to a depth of at least .[ In 1960, ]Norfolk County Council
Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich.
Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...
and the Pilgrim Trust
The Pilgrim Trust is a national grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law.
It was founded in 1930 with a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. T ...
both made grants to enable the sails to be replaced, the council granting £500 and the trust granting £300 towards a total cost of £1,500.millwright
A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites.
The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...
s. Further grants were received by Lt Col Blount from Norfolk County Council in 1963 and 1971.[
Lt Col Blount died on 1 February 1979 and the mill was inherited by his youngest son, Colonel Charles Blount,][ father of the singer ]James Blunt
James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...
, who spent much time there as a child. The mill was offered for sale in May 1982, but did not sell. In 1983, planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
and listed building consent was sought from North Norfolk District Council
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
to turn the mill and complex into a guesthouse and self-catering units. This was granted, with the mill opening as a guesthouse on 27 April 1983.[
In 1986-87, the cap gallery, sails and fantail were renewed. Grants totalling £19,000 were given by ]English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
and Norfolk County Council towards an estimated cost of £45,000. The work was done by millwrights John Lawn and John Bond.[
In December 2006 the windmill was put up for sale for the sum of £1,500,000,]['']Eastern Daily Press
The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk and eastern Cambridgeshire, and is published daily in Norwich, UK.
Founded in 1870 as a broadsheet called the ''Eastern Counties Daily ...
'', December 19, 2006 and was bought by Julian and Carolyn Godlee. The Godlees embarked on widescale restoration works to the mill and outbuildings. Works included replacing the balcony in hardwood and converting the old cart shed to an office with accommodation. In 2014 the sails, fan-tail and oak fan-stage were replaced using the firm Bunting and Son.
The landmark was again for sale in 2019, believed to be in the region of £3m. It was bought in 2021 by Natalie and Varian Bush.
Description
Cley windmill is a five storey tower mill with a stage at second floor level, twenty feet above ground. It has a dome shaped cap with a gallery which was winded by an eight-bladed fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...
, ten feet six inches in diameter. The cap is now fixed and unable to turn to wind. There are four ''double Patent sails'' with a span of 70 ft, carried on stocks long. The inner pair have eight bays of three shutters and the outer pair have nine bays of two shutters and one of three shutters. In 1819 the sails powered two pairs of French burr millstone
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
s, a flour mill and jumper but by 1876 this had been increased to three pairs of stones and a smut machine had been added.[
]
Millers
*John Farthing (1819-22)
*John Lee (1822-48)
*William Edward Powell (1848-50)
*Lawrence Randall (1853-72)
*Stephen Barnabas Burroughes (1875-1900)
*Burroughes Bros (1900-12)
Reference for above:[
]
Public access
Cley windmill is open to the public as a guesthouse on a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
basis.
Culture and media
Cley windmill has become one of the enduring icons of North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...
. Its image has been used on everything from tea towels through to greetings card
A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...
s, tins of biscuits and fudge to a station identification
Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
(ident) between programmes for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. One of the
floating past various locations in the UK, including Cley Windmill.
Cley windmill is licensed to hold wedding ceremonies.