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 email or telephone 07836 675369. |
| Nat Grid Ref TG07653900 |
Copyright © Jonathan Neville 2004 |