Berney Arms Windmill

Geobox|Windmill
name = Berney Arms Windmill
category = Windmill


image_caption =Berney Arms Windmill


symbol = Standard of the English Heritage.svg
country = England
state = Norfolk
region = East of England
district = Broadland
municipality = Reedham
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height =21.5188
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established = 1865
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owner = Managed by English Heritage
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visitation = Closed for renovation (January 2008)
visitation_date=3½ miles NE of Reedham on the N bank of River Yare. Accessible by hired boat, by footpath from Halvergate (3½ miles), or by ¼ mile walk from railway station
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map_caption =Berney Arms Windmill within Norfolk
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map_locator_x =91
map_locator_y =40
website =http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.12272
footnotes =Map Ref: TG465049

Berney Arms Windmill is located alongside the River Yare at the south-westerly end of Breydon Water. [The Norfolk Windmill Trust, Windmills to Visit Guide. 3rd Edition, 1982, Page 16. The Morris Printing Co Ltd, 57-61 Pitt Street, Norwich - description & location details.] The windmill is in an isolated spot. The best approach for the visitor is by river or via the nearby railway station at Berney Arms. The windmill is a long and difficult walk from Reedham, which is about four miles south-west of the windmill.

Description

The windmill is 71 feet (21.5 metres) tall and is the tallest drainage windmill in the county of Norfolk. It is constructed from red brickwork with the outside sloping walls coated with tar. The mill tower stands seven storeys high. The cap resembles an upturned clinker boat hull and is a traditional style for Norfolk. The windmill has four sails and a fantail. The mill's scoop wheel stands some way from the mill, which is unusual. The scoop wheel is linked to the mill by a horizontal shaft and has a diameter of 24 feet (7.3 metres), with long wooden paddles. The paddles scooped water into a narrow brick-built culvert and released it to the higher level of the River Yare.

History

The windmill was built in 1865 for the Reedham Cement Company by the millwright firm of Stolworthy. At first, it was used to grind cement clinker, using clay dredged from Oulton Broad and brought to the mill by wherry. The wherries brought mud and lime to be fired at nearby kilns. The kilns produced a clinker which was ground to a powder in the windmill. Cement production closed down in 1880 and in 1883 the windmill was converted to work the drainage scoop to drain the surrounding marshland. The long period of restoration began in 1951.

The Windmill today

Berney Arms Windmill is now operated as a tourist attraction and is managed by English Heritage. English Heritage removed all four sails and these were finally replaced on 25 May 2007. The cap was replaced in 2003 and the fantail on 22 April 2006. The windmill is closed for renovation work (January 2008).

References