Thelnetham Windmill

The earliest record of a windmill in Thelnetham was a post mill which was shown of Joseph Hodgkinson's map of Suffolk of 1778. In 1818, the post mill was moved to Sandy Lane, Diss, Norfolk The post mill was replaced by a tower mill, which was built by millwright George Bloomfield for William Button in 1819. The mill was set to work on Christmas Day 1819. In 1832, the mill was modernised by the fitting of a cast-iron windshaft, Patent sails and a fantail. It was made by J Aickman, the King's Lynn millwright, and weighs 1¾ tons (1,780 kg). On the death of Alphonso Vincent in 1932, his son George inherited the property. He lived at the site in an old lorry until his death in 1973. Thelnetham…

Terms explained in the Mill machinery article are in italics A four-storey tower mill with Common sails carried on a wooden windshaft, driving two pairs of overdrift millstones. Brake wheel 6 ft diameter. Winding was by hand. The four-storey tower is built of brick, and stands 31 ft from ground level to the curb. The walls are 2 ft thick at ground level. The mill is described from the top down. The pepperpot cap sits on top of the tower, giving the mill an overall height of 45 ft to the finial. It houses the cast-iron windshaft and 7 ft diameter wooden brake wheel internally. Externally the four double Patent sails span 64 ft. They are 9 ft wide and can develop 30 hp. The eight bladed…

Thelnetham Mill is open to the public on Easter Monday, the Sunday of the late May and August bank holidays and the first Sunday in July, August and September. It is also open at other times by prior arrangement.