" Stow mill, situated on Stow Hill in Paston on the coast road near Mundesley, is often known as Paston mill. The imposing 4 storey towermill was built as a flour mill in 1827 and was unusual in that it was designed from the start to look scenic, even to the extent of having dummy windows on each of the upper floors. The tower was originally white-painted, as the two older photographs show. Around 1850 a steam mill was added that drove a further 2 pairs of stones using a 5 h.p. engine.
The tower originally had opposite doors on the ground floor, although one was bricked up in later years. Two blind windows were set into the tower on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. The mill used 2 pairs of double shuttered sails struck by lever, one pair having 8 bays of 3 shutters and the other 7 bays of 3 shutters. The 12 sided domed cap was horizontally boarded and had a petticoat, gallery and a left handed, 8 bladed fan. The brake wheel was made of wood and had a clasp arm.
Thomas Gaze snr died in 1805 and passed the property to his son Thomas Gaze jnr who in turn passed it to his son James Gaze who, being desirous of making provision for his said son in order to advance and prefer him in the world leased the property to his son Thomas Pleasants Gaze. Thomas had already built the mill on his father's land, presumably with his father's financial assistance. The lease was for
ALL THAT messuage tenement or dwelling house with the yard and garden containing by admeasurement thirty perches or thereabouts ... AND ALSO all that pightle of land called the oak pightle otherwise the oak close thereto adjoining ... one acre one rood and six perches or thereabouts TOGETHER with the tower windmill lately erected and built by the said Thomas Gaze on the same piece or parcel of land with the consent of the said James Gaze his father ... in Paston aforesaid and in Mundesley ...
Lease & Release - 12th & 13th October 1827
Thomas Gaze then took out a mortgage of £900 from Christopher Shephard of Heigham to acquire the mill, house and land along with
ALL AND SINGULAR the sails, sail cloths, going gears, stones, tackle, apparel, furniture, materials, implements and appurtenance whatsoever to the said windmill . . . belonging or used therewith . . .
The property was insured for £800 and in 1828 Thomas took out an additional mortgage of £150, also from Christopher Shephard to finance the building of the mill granary.
c.1960 the property was bought by Northamptonshire businessman C. M. Newton. In 1971 the mill was conveyed to C.M. Newton’s grandson, Mike Newton, who enlarged the barn behind the mill and converted it to his home. With the help of admission fees and fundraising appeals he undertook the maintenance of the mill and with substantial restoration it returned the mill to its former appearance.
In 1980 the skeleton fantail was replaced by a fully working version and repair work was carried out to the curb castings enabling the cap to turn to face the wind once again after fifty years fixed facing South. The sails were then also able to turn on a windy day, even though they lacked the shutters that would have been fitted when the mill was working.
On 30th May 1983 an upright shaft, wallower and crown wheel were installed, having come from Houghton mill in Bedfordshire. Other parts were also salvaged from derelict mills but were never installed including two pairs of millstones from Nedging Tye, Suffolk. The great spur wheel came from Gooderstone_towermill, this having been driven by clockwise sails that had in turn driven left handed or clockwise stones.
The sails and the stocks that carry them were also replaced. One pair of the replaced sails originally came from Hellesdon_Press_Lane_towermill in Norwich when it was demolished in 1920 but they had to be shortened by two bays in order to fit. The new stocks were made from galvanised steel, which it was hoped would prove far more durable than the previous Columbian pine ones.
The exposed position of Stow Mill and the salt air resulted in the need for extensive repairs and maintenance from the 1980s onwards."
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