Norfolk Mills - Lenwade watermill

Lenwade Mill
River Wensum

Drawing of the mill dam by Catherine Maude Nichols c.1886

Lenwade bridge c.1910

Norfolk Chronicle - 6th July 1833

Eastern Daily Press advert c.1967

A scheme to turn a crumbling Wensum valley watermill into luxury homes has been approved by planners. The 19th century Lenwade Mill, above, on the A1067 between Taverham and Bawdeswell, is Grade II listed and was placed on Norfolk Historic Buildings at Risk Register.
Now developers Alexander James and Partners plan to transform it over the next 18 months into upmarket homes worth more than £200,000.

The site has been boarded up for the past 15 years and a variety of projects have been put forward to bring the buildings back into use. Now the mill itself will be converted into two high quality homes overlooking the mill stream, which is famous for its fishing. The well-known facade will be restored to its original state and the machinery which is still in working order will be left on the site. A granary on the site will be divided into four homes.

The Norfolk Society and the Norfolk Windmill Trust applauded developers for their sympathetic conversion plans. Stephen Wood, part of the development partnership, said: 'The front, which people know so well, will hardly change at all. There are one or two bits that have been added which we will remove and put back the way it was. 'We found some old photographs and researched it as far as we could, but we basically knew what it should look like.'
Norfolk Now - 8th June 1999

Watercolour by John Watson 1994

Flood after the snow 2nd February 2004

Rear of mill April 1967

Rear of mill 20th November 2004

Bypass nearest mill 17th January 2008

Bypass furthest from the mill 17th January 2008

Rear of mill 17th January 2008

Crown wheel and tentering gear 17th January 2008

Auxiliary drive 17th January 2008

Natural England
River Wensum Restoration Strategy
Full Report
PDF 1
PDF 2

5.28 The Environment Agency does not own all of the mills or water rights at control structures along the River Wensum SSSI (Table 6). Where private mill rights exist, the Environment Agency has limited powers to control their operational regime and retention levels. However, during initial contact with stakeholders, some mill owners were supportive of the concept of river restoration and were prepared to consider options for altering the future water management regime on impounded river reaches.
5.29 None of the mills are now used for their original purpose and only at Lenwade, Bintry and Elsing have the undershot water wheels been retained. Whilst owners can vary the retained water levels within the old milling limits, the general practice is to hold the water at a relatively high level. This is largely for aesthetic reasons (in order to maintain an expanse of water upstream of the mills) but also due to increasing levels of siltation of the mill pools.
5.30 The fragmentary nature of mill ownership is highlighted during periods of high flow. Each mill owner operates their controls to evacuate floodwaters, often without reference to owners either upstream or downstream. This emphasises the need for improved communication between mill owners/operators and riparian owners/residents. Given the significance of mills to restoration
plans on the River Wensum, a potential constraint relates to the willingness of mill owners/operators to accept/implement changes in water levels, structures and channel works.
5.31 Conversely, mill owners may regard the development of the River Wensum Restoration Strategy as an opportunity for funding to modify structures that might be regarded as a liability in terms of maintenance, operation and health and safety.
River Wensum Restoration Strategy - Natural England

6.16 The mill structures have a profound influence on the river system in the Wensum catchment. If high retained water levels continue upstream of the mills, they would form a significant constraint on the effectiveness of river restoration. Physical modifications at mill sites should aim to restore a more natural longitudinal profile to the river and to remove or reduce physical barriers to the movement of fish and wildlife. Whilst historically a number of mills have been in existence for centuries these have always very actively stored and released water and the cessation of working of the mills in combination with dredging has had a significant impact.
6.17 The recommended actions at mill structures are shown in Table 9. At a number of sites there is no mill building and removal of water level control structures would be the desired course of action. However, often there are multiple channels at a mill site and it is likely that some hydraulic controls would be needed to maintain a split of flows to all channels. These would probably take the form of a fixed crest and a natural chute that would allow the passage of fish and woody debris. At locations where the water level control structures are part of the historic mill building, there is often a variety of passageways and the best way to lower levels will need to be identified using more detailed survey. Initial action can be taken at low cost by merely adjusting operating levels using the available gates and stop boards. The reduction in head that could be achieved at a typical dry weather flow is also summarised in Table 9. The estimated maximum reduction in backwater length through changing the operational level of the sluices (that is, without the need for major engineering works) is 18km. This would reduce the length of the River Wensum SSSI affected by backwater from mills from 67% to 40%. To achieve this it would be necessary to ensure that no channels downstream of gates or fixed weirs are affected, but this could be a cost effective start to the Wensum restoration.
6.18 It is likely that at some locations, where the channel course has been altered and the mill channel is significantly higher than the natural channel, the main flow could be diverted upstream of the current mill location. Maintaining some flow to the original mill weir is likely to be preferable for aesthetic and heritage reasons, so by-passing is likely to be required in conjunction with lowering of the mill weir. Sites where such a solution is envisaged are at Great Ryburgh and Lyng.
6.19 The control structures at Costessey, Swanton Morley and Fakenham are used for flow gauging by the Environment Agency. Lowering these weirs may mean that the existing gauging arrangements will need to be replaced by other methods, such as ultrasonic techniques. The weir on the main channel at Swanton Morley has a two stage drop and a significant reduction in water level could be achieved there without affecting flow gauging through the bridge.
6.20 A former mill known as Gogg's Mill near to Fakenham was removed as part of the drainage improvement works of the 1950s. The channel upstream of the mill has narrowed significantly through the accretion of silt berms, and provides a good case study of the extent to which natural recovery can help restore natural river form and function.
6.21 As part of the River Wensum Water Level Management Plan being prepared by Entec (2007) the views of some private owners on changes in operating level have been canvassed. In broad terms this is not opposed, but there is concern to maintain an attractive setting incorporating some mill pond in line with the historical context particularly at:
1) Elsing
2) Great Ryburgh
3) Bintree
4) North Elmham
5) Lenwade.
6.22 A reduction in the retained water level at mills may constrain the ability to direct water through all the existing channels at mill sites, should this still be required, there may be a need to carry out physical modifications to some of the subsidiary water level control structures.
River Wensum Restoration Strategy - Natural England, 26th June 2009

River Wensum Restoration Strategy - Natural England, 26th June 2009

O. S. Map 1881-82
Courtesy of NLS map images

O.S. Map 2005
Image reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey

Bidwells advertised the mill for sale as 2 units: 2,500 sq ft for £340,000 (sold) and 3,300 sq ft for £390,000 plus the mill cottage for £185,000

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31st December 2002	4th February 2004