East Ruston towermill - East Ruston, Norfolk - Windmills on Waymarking.com

East Ruston towermill, private property, viewable from the roadside.

"East Ruston towermill was built for John Rudd Turner in 1868 by millwright Thomas_Smithdale of St Anne's Foundry, King Street, Norwich and it was said that it was originally fitted with cloth sails before later being converted to double shuttered sails. If this is true it means that the mill was the last known newly built mill to have started life with common sails. The mill was known locally as New Mill.

The six storey towermill was 64ft to the tip of the upper sail and built of red brick and by the late 1800s was powered by 4 double shuttered sails, each with 9 bays of 3 shutters that were struck by rack and pinion. The boat shaped cap had a petticoat and supported an 8 bladed fan and gallery. A stage was set around just above the second floor but dropped level at the loading door. The second floor was the stone floor that held three pairs of stones, two of which were later worked by steam power.

Rex Wailes reported that the shot curb had an independent ring of rollers between the cap and the curb. The stone nuts were lifted out of gear by a rigger (2 chains). The bell alarm was operated by a striker.

The towermill remained in the Turner family throughout its working life. Robert and Horace Turner eventually took over from their father John and traded as Turner Brothers from 1875-1900 and they had installed a steam engine for auxiliary power by 1883.

The mill house was apparently extended when the Turner brothers ran the mill due to the fact that they did not get on very well and the house has two sets of stairs for that reason.

Horace Turner later went into partnership with his sons from 1904-1908.

The mill was advertised for sale by auction on 25th November 1919. It would appear that one of Horace Turner's sons, Herbert Walter Turner bought the towermill that he had been running since c.1912, while one of (George) Robert Turner's sons, John Rudd Turner, took on the steam mill in an adjacent building on the same site. Herbert Walter Turner was the last miller to run the towermill.

Originally auxiliary power was provided by a vertical steam engine but this was later replaced by an 8 h.p. engine made by Riches & Watts of Norwich. The engines were supplied with water via a pump connected to a nearby well.

In 1926 the mill was still wind powered but by 1936 only one pair of sails remained, the mill having been struck by lightning. Production finally ceased in 1946 and the mill was derelict by 1949, although the machinery was not removed until about 1962."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Date of Manufacture: 01/01/1868 Purpose: Milling Open to the public: no Is This Windmill Functional?: No Windmill Farm: no Museum on Site: no Cost: Not Listed

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