Sail repairs c.1905
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Holt
towermill |
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Sail repairs c.1905 |
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Holt tower mill was 5 storeys high and built of brick c.1790. The mill had four double shuttered sails, each with 8 bays of 3 shutters that drove 2 pairs of stones. The boat shaped cap with a gallery and petticoat held an 8 bladed fan. Unusually, the stage was set around the first floor. |
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View of Holt and the mill from Spout Hills - c.1900 |
Charles Kendle |
A WINDMILL TO BE SOLD All that capital & new erected WINDMILL situate in Holt in Norfolk, consisting of a roundhouse completely fitted up, capable of containing twenty lasts of corn, with accounting house, lodging room & a horse mill for dressing flour in the same, with every other needful apparatus. Likewise two capital GRANARIES for corn adjoining, with a lodge for carts & wagons, stables & hayhouse, all new built & well situated for trade, with two acres & a half of freehold Land thereto belonging. For price & particulars enquire of Charles Kendle of Holt, the proprietor, who will shew the premises; of Mr. John Dew, Swanton Novers or Mr. Robert Akers, Hindolveston. Norfolk Chronicle - 30th June, 21st & 28th July 1792 |
A WINDMILL To be Sold by Auction On Saturday 13 October 1792 at the Feathers Inn in Holt, between the hours of 4 & 5 o’c in the afternoon. All that capital new-erected WINDMILL with Granaries, Stables etc. thereto belonging, situate in Holt in the county of Norfolk, with two acres of Freehold Land to the same, all inclosed. Norfolk Chronicle - 29th September 1792 |
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1908 |
| WINDMILL to Let. With Immediate Possession Together with a large & convenient COTTAGE, a Stable & near Three Acres of Land all attached & pleasantly situated with five minutes walk of the Market in Holt. Apply, if by letter post paid to Mr. J. Lane, on the premises. Norfolk Chronicle - 10th February 1827 |
CAUTION. |
SHORE OLIVER |
| Holt, May 7, 1828 Norfolk Chronicle 10th May 1828 |
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Olive Chapman and friend with the mill behind - 1911 |
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Tithe map 1839 - as redrawn by Harry Apling |
Tithe Award 1841 |
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No. 88 |
House, Mill & Premises |
Pasture |
0a. 2r. 6p. |
10s. 3d. |
William Daplyn, journeyman miller in 1851, went on to run Holt Heath postmill. |
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Mill working with two sails and missing shutters - c.1912 |
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Suicide of Mr. Harris Mr. Harris, Miller & Merchant, who has resided in Holt for several years & carried on a prosperous business, became about two years ago the subject of very gloomy & desponding spirits which settled into an intense dislike to be seen by anyone, even by his own friends. On Thursday, while temporarily left in his bedroom for a short time, he hung himself with a handkerchief to the top of the bedstead ... ... verdict of Temporary insanity ... Norfolk News - 11th May 1861 |
Holt To be Sold by Auction by Messrs. Whiting & Leggatt on Friday May 17, 1867 at the Lion Inn, Holt at 3 o’c All that substantially built Brick TOWER WIND CORN MILL driving two pair of stones, with patent sails, tackle & machinery thereto belonging. Also a commodious RESIDENCE, barn, stables, cartsheds, granary & other buildings required for the occupation of the said mill, with Garden & Pasture Land adjoining, the whole containing 1a.0r.38p. or thereabouts. The Property is well situated for trade in the Market town of Holt, is a freehold tenure & a large business was for many years carried on in it by the late Mr. William Harris. Immediate Possession may be had. Outgoings Land Tax 5s. Apply to Messrs. Wilkinson & Slann, Solrs. Holt or to the Auctioneers, Holt. Norfolk Chronicle - 11th May & Norfolk News - 4th & 11th May 1867 |
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24th May 1937 |
TO MILLERS, FARMERS & OTHERS HOLT MILL, NORFOLK Messrs. Cooper & Isaacks will Sell by Auction under a Bill of Sale without reserve on Tuesday, February 18, 1868 at 12 o’c to the minute, on the Premises of Mr. John Ward, Miller, Holt, a quantity of superior wheat, oats, beans, barley, peas, offal, bran; several loads of turnips, a few sacks of flour, 2 excellent young horses, 5 sets of harness, a miller’s wagon, 4 carts, a light spring cart, plough & sundry farming implements & stable utensils; beam, scales & weights; 8 fat pigs, about 50 fowls, a superior flour dresser, root pulper, strapping and gear to wind mill, a capital saw bench with circular saws; about 30 sleepers & a quantity of timber, several lots of excellent Household Furniture & various other effects. On view three days prior & morning of sale. Catalogues on the Premises or will be forwarded by post on application at the Mill; or the Auctioneers’ Offices, 78 Gloucester Street, Pimlico, London, S.W. Norfolk News - 8th & 15th February 1868 |
LOCAL BANKRUPTS (From the LONDON GAZETTE) |
BANKRUPTS |
To Millers, farmers & others |
Preliminary Notice |
HOLT ... |
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26th
May 1970
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c.1970 |
I've been up this mill scores of times and sat on the top cap. A school chum of mine once climbed up the sails and sat on the very top one. The little wheel is from 12 to 14 ft across it. |
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Mill site 27th March 2004 |
27th March 2004 |
Not long after A.G. Wright Ltd. bought the site to expand their cah & carry business in January 1973, the mill was declared structually unsafe, possibly as a way of providing a fuss free way of allowing the tower to be removed. Mill towers are extraordinarily strong and it is unlikely the tower would have posed a safety threat if basically maintained. However, during demolition the circular concrete cap's fixings were loosened and the heavy cap collapsed in a cloud of dust. |
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O. S. Map 1886 Courtesy of NLS map images |
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O.S. Map 2005 Image reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey |
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c.1790: Mill built
Kelly's 1854: William Harris, corn miller, Chapel street
c.1905: Mill sails underwent repairs
1918: Mill ceased production
Spring 1922: Sails removed |
If you have any memories, anecdotes or photos please let us know and we may be able to use them to update the site. By all means telephone 07836 675369 or
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| Nat Grid Ref TG07653900 |
Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2004 |