Moody Mills
During the summer I decided to try and take some photographs of a number of windmills in Norfolk and I began with two which are relatively close to each other – Horsey Windpump and Brograve Mill – photographed at dawn and at dusk.
At Horsey Gap there has been a drainage mill on or in the vicinity of the site since the early 1700s. The current mill is the third or fourth mill to exist here, with the original having been built between 1730–40.
In the books it has been referred to as the New Mill, the Great Mill and the Black Mill. The present Horsey Windpump was built in 1912 by local millwright Dan England. The mill is visible for miles around and recently a great deal of restoration was undertaken and completed by the National Trust.
This of course makes it very attractive for tourists – even more so now that the Broads Authority allow boats who have sailed up Meadow Dyke and crossed Horsey Mere to moor near the mill for the night. It’s great for the tourists but not so good for photographers who find that their shots of the river near the mill can be cluttered with hired boats. AND their crews seem to delight in cooking bacon and eggs in the early mornings (when photographers want to take their sunrise shots!). It is quite a struggle against the gorgeous smell of frying bacon.
Brograve mill is a bit different. For one thing it is a ruin – not easily approached by land. It is a good forty minute walk from Horsey – and more than that if it is wet.
Clearly this has been a drainage mill for the surrounding marshes. The books claim there has been a mill here since the 18th century.
Today it is possible to see through the open top the remains of 19th century winding gear inside the damaged brick building.
One learned source states that the tower has subsided in five places and been straightened on five different occasions. As a result it has become known locally as the Devil’s Mill and a legend has grown up that the miller was a necromancer. Maybe it is a good job that there was a river between me and the mill.
Having said that I find that despite its dilapidated state, Brograve is the more attractive of the two mills. No one disturbs you at Brograve and only rarely does a person walk along the old tow path.
Right, I’ll amble away for another week. Next Friday may be about boats again as the Norfolk Punt Club holds the Athene Cup – an unusual race far away from Barton Broad.