Herringfleet Mill or Walker's Mill 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 ...

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...

Herringfleet Herringfleet is a place and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is located north-west of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district. The parish was combined with Somerleyton and Ashby to create the parish of Somer ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England, Now in a bad state of repair with two of the 4 sails removed.

History

The mill was erected c1820 by millwright Robert Barnes of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. It was disused in 1883 but later put back to work. The mill was worked by wind until 1956. Her owners, the

Somerleyton Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyto ...

Estate were keen to ensure that she was preserved. East Suffolk County Council agreed in principle that the mill should be preserved, and approached the Ministry of Works who agreed to pay half the cost of the restoration. Most of the rest of the money came from East Suffolk County Council and the Suffolk Preservation Society, with smaller amounts from other groups. Restoration of the mill was undertaken by Thomas Smithdale & Sons, the Acle

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. The mill was officially opened on 25 July 1958 by Charles Howlett, who had been marshman at the mill for over forty years. Further restoration work was done in 1971 by Neville Martin, the

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

millwright.

Description

Herringfleet Windmill - Bridge4096 x 5734

''Herringfleet Mill'' is an octagonal three-storey smock mill with a boat-shaped cap. Winding is by tailpole and winch, the last mill on

the Broads The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly use ...

. The four

Common sails Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

are carried on a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

windshaft. The wooden brake sheel has 59 teeth. It drives a cast-iron wallower with 47 cogs. The wallower is mounted on an square upright shaft. At the bottom of the upright shaft a cast-iron bevel gear with 33 teeth drives a cast-iron pit wheel with 102 cogs. The pit wheel is carried on a cast-iron shaft diameter. This shaft has at its outer end a by scoopwheel. The mill could pump of water per minute.

Marshmen

*Jimmy Walker *Charles Howlett 1916-56 References for above

Public access

The mill is open on

National Mills Day National Mills Day is an event in the United Kingdom. It occurs annually on the second Sunday in May. It started off as a single day event, but expanded to include Saturday as well as Sunday, and is now promoted as National Mills Weekend. The eve ...

(second Sunday in May) and on occasional days in the summer and autumn.

Culture and media

*Herringfleet windmill appears in the short film ''And now they rest'' released in 1938. Herringfleet Mill is featured in the opening scene of the 2014 film '' Mr Turner'', standing in for a Dutch windmill.

References

External links

Windmill World
webpage on Herringfleet Mill. {{Windmills and Windpumps of East Anglia Towers completed in 1820 Industrial buildings completed in 1820 Windmills in Suffolk Waveney District Grade II* listed buildings in Suffolk Smock mills in England Grade II* listed windmills Museums in Suffolk Mill museums in England Octagonal buildings in the United Kingdom