Narborough Watermill

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Narborough Watermill
Narbourough Watermill 22 04 2010.JPG
Narborough Watermill west elevation.
Norfolk UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Narborough Watermill within North Norfolk
General information
TypeWatermill
Location River Nar
Town or city Narborough
Country England
Coordinates 52°41′15.56″N0°35′0.96″E / 52.6876556°N 0.5836000°E / 52.6876556; 0.5836000 Coordinates: 52°41′15.56″N0°35′0.96″E / 52.6876556°N 0.5836000°E / 52.6876556; 0.5836000
Openedcica 1780
Owner Private
Technical details
MaterialNorfolk red Brick
built with red Pantile roof

Narborough Watermill is located on the river Nar, within the village of Narborough in the English county of Norfolk. [1] The watermill is thought to have been built around 1780 [2] and is a Grade II listed building

River Nar river in the United Kingdom

The River Nar is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises at Mileham near Litcham in Norfolk and flows 15 miles west through Castle Acre and Narborough, joining the Ouse at King's Lynn. It has had a variety of alternative names, such as the Setch, the Sandringham, and Lynn Flu, though these are rarely, if ever, used today. In 2011 the Nar was recognised by the Environment Agency as one of the top ten most improved rivers in England and Wales.

Narborough, Norfolk village in Norfolk, England

Narborough is a village of 1405 hectares in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, with a population of 1,094 at the 2011 census. It is situated in the Nar Valley, with the river Nar flowing through on its way to the River Great Ouse.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Contents

Description

The Watermill is built from red Norfolk brick over three storeys in six bays to the west elevation. Four of the six bays are recessed within giant enclosing arches. The arches are semicircular headed with raised ashlars and a Keystone. In the center of the west elevation of the mill there is a timber lucam (covered sack hoist) of shiplap construction. In front of the west elevation there is a bridge with a three centered arch through which the mill race flows. The bridge has a parapet wall. The rear east elevation is constructed with weatherboard cladding with a continuous first floor outshoot which houses machinery of the mill. Below this there are sluice gates beneath a three centered archway. The ground and first floor of the mill still contains the Mill wheel and the machinery all which are now listed. The surviving machinery includes a 13 feet 7 inches (4.14 m) wheel driving pit-wheel and wallower. There is a horizontal mainshaft that once drove 6 pairs of stones, although there are only five that now survive. The mill race still flows through under the building.

Ashlar Finely dressed stone and associated masonry

Ashlar is finely dressed stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared or the structure built of it. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal. Precisely cut "on all faces adjacent to those of other stones", ashlar is capable of very thin joints between blocks, and the visible face of the stone may be quarry-faced or feature a variety of treatments: tooled, smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect.

Keystone (architecture) top stone of an arch

A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry arch, or the generally round one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch or vault to bear weight. In both arches and vaults, keystones are often enlarged beyond the structural requirements, and often decorated in some way. Keystones are often placed in the centre of the flat top of openings such as doors and windows, essentially for decorative effect.

Shiplap

Shiplap is a type of wooden board used commonly as exterior siding in the construction of residences, barns, sheds, and outbuildings.

History

Narborough watermill is thought to have been built around 1780 [2] and over the years has been extended, altered and had parts demolished over the long period of its existence. In 1845 [2] the watermill had an extension built on to the North West corner of the mill by the miller Charles Tyssen. [2] However this addition proved to be un-successful as the building had been erected on poor foundations and it began to slowly sink over a period of years. The section, including a miller’s house which stood to the front, had to be demolished in 1980 [2] for safety reasons. At the same time piling work was done to underpin the remaining building.

Deep foundation type of building foundation

A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths.

In construction or renovation, underpinning is the process of strengthening the foundation of an existing building or other structure. Underpinning may be necessary for a variety of reasons:

See also

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References

  1. OS Explorer Map 236:King’s Lynn, Downham Market & Swaffham. ISBN   0-319-23808-3
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Norfolk Mills-Narborough Watermill". Norfolk Mills. Retrieved 23 April 2010.