Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill

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Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill
Windmill
none Burnham Overy Tower Windmill
Burnham Overy Tower Windmill
Symbol
Country England
State Norfolk
Region East of England
District North Norfolk
Municipality Burnham Overy
Location Tower Road
(the A149 coast road)
Founded 1816
Owner The National Trust
Visitation Let out as a Holiday Home
Burnham Overy Tower Windmill within Norfolk
Burnham Overy Tower Windmill within Norfolk
grid reference TF837437

Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill is a Grade II* listed building[1] half a mile west of the village of Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk, England.[2] It is on the landward side of the A149 King’s Lynn to Great Yarmouth coast road.[3]

[edit] Description

Burnham Overy Staithe Windmill was built in 1816 by Edmund Savory, a datestone set in the brick work above the first floor has the inscription ES 1816. the tower is constructed of brickwork and is black tarred. The tower stands over six storeys and has a stage at the first floor level. The base has a diameter of 24 feet and the brickwork is 2 feet thick. The cap is constructed with horizontall boarding in the Ogee shape. The cap was topped with a ball finial. There is a 6 bladded fan. The 4 double shuttered sails with a span of 81 feet, each had 12 bays of 3 shutters are now fixed in a Southern direction. The sails drove 3 set of millstones.

[edit] The 20th Century

The windmill ceased working commercially in 1919 and was sold to a Mr Hughes in 1926. By this time all the mills internal machinery had been stripped out. Mr Hughes added a single story extension to the north east elevation and turned the windmill in to a holiday home. In 1957 a fixed cap, new 62ft stocks weighing a ton each, skeleton sails, a new stage and fan that are seen today were installed by the specialist millwrights R. Thompson & Son of Alford of Lincolnshire. In 1958 Mr Hughes donated the windmill to the National Trust. Soon after this date the sails which had deteriorated badly and so had to be replaced. Since then the National Trust let it out as a Holiday home. [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Images of England page
  2. ^ OS Explorer Map 24” – Norfolk Coast Central. ISBN 0 319 21726 4
  3. ^ The Norfolk Windmill Trust, Windmills to Visit Guide. 3rd Edition 1982. Page 8, The Morris Printing Co Ltd 57-61 Pitt Street Norwich, Discription & Location Details
  4. ^ Page at norfolkmills.co.uk with history and photos