River Mun
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The River Mun or Mundesley Beck is a river in the north of the county 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. The source of the river can be found in the Parish of Northrepps. The river finally runs into the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
in the village of Mundesley.


The source

The source of the River Mun can be found next to Craft Lane, close to Furyhill plantation between
Northrepps Northrepps is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is southeast of Cromer, north of Norwich and north of London. The village lies west of the A149 which runs between Kings Lynn and Great Yarmouth. The nearest rail ...
and the hamlet of
Frogshall Frogshall is a small hamlet within the civil parish of Northrepps in the English county of Norfolk. The hamlet is southeast of Cromer, north of Norwich and north of London. Craft Lanruns through the hamlet between Northrepps and Southrepps ...
. It runs in a south easterly direction through a wooded valley and passes under Craft Lane close to Frogshall Farm House. From here it runs through woodland for a short distance and into a large pool called Little Broad. From Little Broad, still in woodland, the river falls over a weir and into some marshy woodland known as Osier Carr. Deep in the heart of Osier Carr Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) can be found. The mussels are filter feeders, removing phytoplankton and other suspended particulate matter from the river. This removal of suspended matter from the water is often considered ecologically desirable, as it reduces phytoplankton blooms and in the treatment of drinking water. The river now passes under another lane from Sidestrand. From here the river feeds a system of ponds and sluices in an area known as the Grove. Many drains feed into the river here. The river now turns almost south and passes under another lane called Cromer Road and crosses countryside towards Ash Tree Farm and Ash
Plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
. The river now widens slightly and begins to cross open countryside, slowly turning south east again. Along this section the Mun runs adjacent to several small reservoirs and ponds and drains.


Gimingham watermill

At
Gimingham Gimingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Gimingham has no shops, but has a Church, a pond and a preserved Water Mill. The village is north of North Walsham and south east of Cromer. It is north of the city of N ...
the river flows into a series of Mill Ponds. These ponds fed Gimingham watermill (Nat Grid Ref TG28663690) which is the first of two mills that stood on the river. The Mill dam once held back a broad fed by the River. The water ran under the Mill street to reach the
waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
, which was probably originally overshot. There has been a mill at this point since the time of the
Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. The last mill to work here was built of local brick and flint brought in from local beaches. The original waterwheel went fairly early on, first being supplemented by steam and then replaced by a
turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating e ...
with half twist drive in 1912 and then later by
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s, although water was still used for cooling them. The mill carried on working until 30 November 1976, using its diesel power to mill animal feedstuffs. The watermill was worked in conjunction with the nearby Gimingham postmill until 1877. The original heavy diesel oil engine has been carefully preserved and stands on Mill Street just below the old mill. Gimingham Mill Lake is a very popular fishing location. In the lake, pit and river, Bream,
Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
,
Tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...
and
Roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...
can be caught. From Gimingham the river cross more open farm land now heading east, passing on its left Mundesley Hospital which was refurbished in 1997 and is now the
Diana Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
Treatment Centre for
Drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
and
Alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
Problems. Where the road leading up to the hospital crosses the River Mun, the Environment Agency has a Water Resource Management gauging station. From here the river begins to skirt the southern side of the coastal village of Mundesley.


Mun valley and Mundesley golf course

The valley here is part o
Mundesley Golf Club
The golf club was established in 1901, and was designed with the help of one of the sport's legends, 6-times Open winner Harry Vardon (1870–1937), built on the rolling hillside of the River Mun valley. Today its nine holes, with 18 tees, offer a satisfying challenge to players of all abilities. Harry Vardon's association with Mundesley Golf Club spanned many years, from consultation, in 1900 to his misfortune to contract
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in 1903, and it was to Mundesley's
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
that he went for treatment. While recuperating in 1904, still at the sanatorium, he ventured along the lane which bisects the course to enjoy a round of golf. Here he experienced his only career hole-in-one, on what is now the sixth, a feat which no doubt contributed to the success of his convalescence. From the
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
course the river travels a short distance due east and enters the village under
Trunch Trunch is a village and parish in Norfolk, England, situated three miles north of North Walsham and two miles from the coast at Mundesley. At the Census 2011 the village had a population of 909. The parish covers an area of . The villages name ...
Road close to its junction with High Street and Heath Road. Just past Trunch Road the river falls over another
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
before turning north into the eastern side of the village.


Mundesley Watermill

The river now fills another mill pond where once the second mill on the river worked. Mundesley watermillNorfolk Mills - Mundesley watermill
/ref> was built c.1723 and consisted of two brick floors supporting a weather boarded upper floor and roof space under a Norfolk pantiled roof. Seen from the roadside, Mundesley Mill has five floors but if you took the public pathway round to the back, only two would have been visible. This is because the mill pool lying behind was level with the third floor. The builders set the mill deep into a high bank, over which the water would have fallen freely in the old days before findings its way to the beach, although it is quite possible the water was diverted to this point for the purpose of driving the mill. Unusually the mill had an
overshot waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucke ...
. The only way to provide a sufficient head of water was to
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
the river to form the mill pond we see today which is some considerable height above the road. When the mill was working, 8 million gallons of water flowed through per day. When the mill was worked by the Larter family in the 1920s, the deeds stated that anyone interfering with the river had to pay dues to the millers. The Larter family also used the mill to generate electricity, which also supplied power to some of the surrounding properties including a Bell's grocery shop, Larter & Rudran's bicycle garage and a property at The Dell. The mill burnt down in November 1956. Some of the cog wheels were still visible in their mountings within the shell of the building in 1959. The remains of the building were finally pulled down in the summer of 1965. The waterwheel was large with a diameter of and the owner of the Mill House decided to enclose the wheel behind a grill and to leave it as a showpiece. The wooden spokes and the rim can still be seen, and some of the metal scoops and some wooden cogs have been replaced. For many years it still turned whenever enough water was available. The river's water flowed over the wheel and then under the road and into the North sea through a pipe.


Gallery

Image:Jubilee Bridge ove rthe River Mun Close to its source at Frogshall 5th October 2007.JPG, Jubilee footbridge at Frogshall. Image:3 River Mun at Mundesley Hospital (2).JPG, Gauging station on the River Mun at Mundesley Hospital. Image:Gimingham mill pond River Mun.JPG, Gimingham mill pond. Image:River Mun at the crossing in the village of Mundesley.JPG, The River Mun at Mundesley File:River Mun at its Outfall in Mundesley Sunday 21 March 2010 (3).JPG, The River at its outfall into the North Sea, looking back upstream File:River Mun at its Outfall in Mundesley Sunday 21 March 2010 (1).JPG, The River at its outfall into the North Sea


References

{{authority control Mundesley Mun