Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill

Thomas Smithdale and Son of Acle built Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill in 1912. It was one of the last drainage mills to be built in the Broads and was the last to work by wind. It was abandoned in 1953 after the storm that preceded the East Coast Floods damaged it.

The brick tower is tarred and has a base diameter of about 14 feet. It stands about 26 feet tall to the top of the brickwork, and 34 feet to the top of the cap. The mill ran a 15-foot diameter scoopwheel.

Norfolk millwright Richard Seago restored the mill between 2003 and 2006. It is privately owned and leased to Norfolk Windmills Trust. It is a Grade II listed building.

You can view the mill from public footpath along the riverside. There is no vehicular access to the site and the mill is not open to the public.

Location

• what3words: ///gosh.spider.guess
• Grid Ref: TG506095
• Nearest postcode: NR30 5TJ

Image of Ashtree Farm Drainage Mill