Berney Arms Windmill

Berney Arms Windmill
Windmill
Berney Arms Windmill.
Symbol
Country	England
State	Norfolk
Region	East of England
District	Broadland
Municipality	Reedham
Coordinates	52°35′12″N 1°38′16″E / 52.58657°N 1.63788°E / 52.58657; 1.63788Coordinates: 52°35′12″N 1°38′16″E / 52.58657°N 1.63788°E / 52.58657; 1.63788
Height	21.5188 m (71 ft)
Founded	1865
Owner	Managed by English Heritage
Visitation	Open to public on Mondays only (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)
Berney Arms Windmill within Norfolk
Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.12272
Map Ref: TG465049

Berney Arms Windmill is located at Berney Arms alongside the River Yare at the south-western end of Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. The windmill is in an isolated spot in The Broads around 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of the village of Reedham and 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Great Yarmouth. The mill has no road access but can be accessed by boat, by foot or from Berney Arms railway station. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage.

The windmill is 21.5 metres (71 ft) tall and is the tallest drainage windmill in 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 7.3 metres (24 ft), 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.

The windmill was built in 1865 for the Reedham Cement Company by the millwright firm of Stolworthy on the site of a previous mill. It was initially used to grind cement clinker, using chalk from Whitlingham near Norwich and clay dredged from Oulton Broad or Breydon Water, both brought to the mill by wherry. These materials were fired at nearby kilns. The kilns produced a clinker which was ground to a powder in the windmill. At this time the cement works supported a small settlement with 11 inhabited houses and a chapel.