There was no working party today as we had a day school which started with a talk about the mills of Breckland and then a visit to Little Cressingham Mill.

The talk was very interesting and covered water mills and windmills of Breckland with many pictures of the mills including historic photos and recent renovations. This was followed by a question and answer session.

We then went to Little Cressingham mill which originally had both wind and water power. After eating our lunch in the pleasant surroundings, the water wheel was started and ran for the duration of our visit. We saw how the machinery was started and could see the water wheel turning and inside the shaft and gears revolving through all levels of the mill. There are 2 sets of stones, one is powered by water and one was powered by wind, and they could both be used together. The tower is 6 floors high, and there are good views of the surrounding countryside from the upper levels.

Seeing the way this mill works gave us insight into how Narborough bone mill might have looked inside the main building where the machinery and grinding process would have been similar.             

Graham Bartlett       Links to working parties 24/09/15    8/10/15