Great Bircham 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 in

Great Bircham Great Bircham is the largest of the three villages that make up the civil parish of Bircham, in the west of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located about half a mile south of the village of Bircham Newton, the same distance west of ...

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 ...

History

The earliest record of a windmill in Great Bircham is in 1761, when miller Richard Miller made his will. The mill, which was probably a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

, was offered for sale in 1769. In 1800 the miller, Robert Sparham, was in financial difficulties and made a Deed of Assignment. In 1804 the mill was offered for sale or to let by George Humphrey. The next miller was Bloom Humphrey, who was followed by his widow Martha and then their son George. The mill remained in the Humphrey family until it was demolished c1846 to enable a new tower mill to be built on its site. The tower mill was built for George Humphrey in 1846, a date stone to this effect is located between two windows on the first floor of the mill. The mill was built from cream coloured bricks, but was later tarred. The mill was offered to let in 1856 and again in 1861. An accident in March 1864 in which George Humphrey was driving his cart whilst drunk resulted in the death of his wife Elizabeth. In April the mill was ordered to be sold by the mortgagees. An

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

was held on 13 May at the Hare Inn, Docking. The next millers were Henry and Philip Stanton, followed by Walter Palmer. He left Norfolk in 1882 and Joseph Wagg took the mill, followed by a succession of Howards. William Howard was the last miller. The mill was working in 1916 but had ceased by 1922. The sails and fantail had been removed by 1934. The mill was part of the

Houghton Estate Houghton Estate, often simply called Houghton is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, north-east of the city centre. It is best known for being the home of Nelson Mandela. History Houghton was developed as a residential area around ...

of the Marquess of Cholmondeley. In 1939 the mill was sold to

Her Majesty the Queen The precise style of British sovereigns has varied over the years. style is officially proclaimed in two languages:UK ParliamentRoyal Titles Act 1953(1 & 2 Eliz. 2 c. 9) Proclamation of 28 May 1953 made in accordance with the Royal Titles Act 195 ...

, becoming part of the Sandringham Estate. The mill was purchased from

by Roger Wagg in May 1976 and restoration of the mill commenced in 1977. The restoration of the mill began in 1977. The cap frame was removed on 17 August 1979 by Messrs Lennard & Lawn,

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, based at

Caston Caston is a village and civil parish in the English of Norfolk. History Caston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for "Catt's farmstead or settlement". In the Domesday Book, Caston is recorded as a settlement of 5 ...

. The new cap was fitted on 2 August 1979. The first pair of sails were fitted on 17 May 1980 and the second pair on 26 May 1983. The tower was coated with Bellecoat Stipple, a black resin-based protective covering. Internally, new floors were fitted, and a new stage constructed around the mill. Replacement machinery was sourced from other windmills. The drive for the sack hoist came from Harpley.

Description

Great Bircham Mill is a five-storey tower mill with a stage at third-floor level. The tower is to curb level and outside diameter at the base, with walls thick. It has an ogee cap with a gallery. The cap is winded by a six-bladed ''fantail''. Four ''double Patent sails'' are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft''. The ''wallower'' and ''upright shaft'' are of cast iron. The ''great spur wheel'' has a cast-iron centre and iron teeth. The mill drives two pairs of French Burr ''millstones''.

Millers

;Post mill *Richard Miller 1761-84 *Robert Sparham 1800 *George Humphrey 1804 *Bloom Humphrey 1836- *Martha Humphrey -1845 *George Humphrey 1845-46 ;Tower mill *George Humphrey 1846-64 *Henry Stanton 1864-75 *Philip Stanton 1864-75 *Walter Palmer 1878-82 *Joseph Wagg 1883-88 *Thomas Howard 1890-96 *Mrs Howard 1900-08 *William Alfred Howard 1912-16 *Roger Wagg 1976-2006 *Steve & Elly Chalmers 2006 to date Reference for above:-

Public access

Great Bircham Windmill is open daily from Easter to the end of September between 10:00 and 17:00. Coach parties by arrangement.

References

External links

Windmill World
webpage on Great Bircham Mill.
Great Bircham Windmill website
{{Windmills and Windpumps of East Anglia Windmills in Norfolk Tower mills in the United Kingdom Grinding mills in the United Kingdom Windmills completed in 1846 Grade II listed buildings in Norfolk King's Lynn and West Norfolk Grade II listed windmills Museums in Norfolk Mill museums in England