Hunsett Windmill
Encyclopedia
Hunsett Mill is located on the east bank of the River Ant
one mile north of Barton Broad
in the English
county
of Norfolk
. The Windmill is 1.2 miles south west of the town of Stalham
. The mill structure is a grade II listed building.
The house adjacent to the mill has originally been built around the same time as the mill, but to less good standards than the mill itself. The house was built on a little raised earth mount to prevent flooding, and consisted of two spaces for the Millkeeper, a ground floor room and an upper floor room connected by a staircase. Due to its original limitations and due to repeated flooding, the Mill Keepers house has been remodelled and extended extensively, in the 1910s, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s and in 2008. Hunsett Mill is probably the most photographed windmill on the Broads appearing as it does on most postcards. This is due to its chocolate box picture setting. The Mill is quite hard to get to, being at the Northern end of the Norfolk Broads network and it has no road access. Hunsett Mill is privately owned.
the cap were gutted in the 1950s/ 60s. The Hunsett Mill house has been used over the last decades as a stand alone primary residence and holiday home. Major damage was caused to the sails of the windmill in the Great storm of 1987
, which resulted in one of the sails being completely replaced with wood especially shipped all the way from Canada
. On 5 May 2007 another storm caused the fan to be torn of the fanstage which was repaired in the summer of 2008.
Between 2008 and 2009, Hunsett Mill was extensively renovated and the Mill Keepers Cottage remodelled based on a design by ACME
(architecture), Adams Kara Taylor (structure) and Hoare Lea (Services).Five extensions made to the Cottage in the 1940s and 1950s were demolished and replaced with a single extension at the back of the cottage. In order for the new extension to retreat behind the listed setting of the mill, the new additions to the house are designed as shadows of the existing house.
The structure of the new extension is made entirely from solid laminated wood, which is exposed in the interior and clad in charred cedar boards externally. Ground source heat pumps, passive solar heating, independent water well supply and a new treatment plant will make the house almost fully self-sufficient.
These works to Mill and Cottage coincided with Flood defence work by the Environment Agency and included the construction of a new earth berm flood defence around the Mill and the Cottage.
Manser Medal 2010 for the best one-off house in the United Kingdom.
The house has also been shortlisted for the “Structural Awards 2009“ by the Institution of Structural Engineers
and the “Sustainability Awards 2009" as one of the five most sustainable projects with a budget under £2 million by the UK Green Building Council
and Building Magazine.
Hunsett Mill has been named as one of seven East of England winners in the RIBA
Awards for architectural excellence.
River Ant
The River Ant is a tributary river of the River Bure in the county of Norfolk, England. It is 17 miles long , and has an overall drop of 25 metres from source to mouth...
one mile north of Barton Broad
Barton Broad
Barton Broad lies within The Broads in Norfolk, the United Kingdom. The broad is situated to the south and east of the village of Barton Turf, and is within the parish of Barton Turf....
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. The Windmill is 1.2 miles south west of the town of Stalham
Stalham
Stalham is a market town on the River Ant in the English county of Norfolk, in East Anglia. It covers an area of and had a population of 2,951 in 1,333 households as of the 2001 census. It lies within the Norfolk Broads, about north-east of Norwich on the A149 road.For the purposes of local...
. The mill structure is a grade II listed building.
Description
The Windmill was built in 1860 and is constructed of red bricks. The mill has a White boat shaped cap sails and a fantail. The windpump once ran two scoop wheels. The tower had four patent sails. The mill is approximately 12 m high, and has been visually retained in its original historic condition, even though internal works to the mill in the 1960s have removed all mill equipment previously installed in the brick structure. The mill is part of the large historic pumping mill system characteristic to the Broads, and is Grade II listed. (List of drainage windmills in Norfolk)The house adjacent to the mill has originally been built around the same time as the mill, but to less good standards than the mill itself. The house was built on a little raised earth mount to prevent flooding, and consisted of two spaces for the Millkeeper, a ground floor room and an upper floor room connected by a staircase. Due to its original limitations and due to repeated flooding, the Mill Keepers house has been remodelled and extended extensively, in the 1910s, 1940s, 1950s, 1970s and in 2008. Hunsett Mill is probably the most photographed windmill on the Broads appearing as it does on most postcards. This is due to its chocolate box picture setting. The Mill is quite hard to get to, being at the Northern end of the Norfolk Broads network and it has no road access. Hunsett Mill is privately owned.
History
The site has probably been occupied by pumping structures for several centuries, but all existing structures on site date from 1860 or later. Embedded in the stonework of the Mill is a Datestone inscribed HUNSETT 1698 which is presumed to be originating from an earlier mill on the site. The historic mill and the mill keepers house were used for water pumping functions until approximately 1910. Since then the mill has not been used and the internals except forthe cap were gutted in the 1950s/ 60s. The Hunsett Mill house has been used over the last decades as a stand alone primary residence and holiday home. Major damage was caused to the sails of the windmill in the Great storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
, which resulted in one of the sails being completely replaced with wood especially shipped all the way from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On 5 May 2007 another storm caused the fan to be torn of the fanstage which was repaired in the summer of 2008.
Between 2008 and 2009, Hunsett Mill was extensively renovated and the Mill Keepers Cottage remodelled based on a design by ACME
ACME (Space)
ACME was established in 2007 in London. The practice operates in the fields of contemporary architecture, urban planning, interior and product design working with private, corporate and public clients....
(architecture), Adams Kara Taylor (structure) and Hoare Lea (Services).Five extensions made to the Cottage in the 1940s and 1950s were demolished and replaced with a single extension at the back of the cottage. In order for the new extension to retreat behind the listed setting of the mill, the new additions to the house are designed as shadows of the existing house.
The structure of the new extension is made entirely from solid laminated wood, which is exposed in the interior and clad in charred cedar boards externally. Ground source heat pumps, passive solar heating, independent water well supply and a new treatment plant will make the house almost fully self-sufficient.
These works to Mill and Cottage coincided with Flood defence work by the Environment Agency and included the construction of a new earth berm flood defence around the Mill and the Cottage.
Awards
The Mill Keepers Cottage has won a number of awards, including the RIBARiba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Manser Medal 2010 for the best one-off house in the United Kingdom.
The house has also been shortlisted for the “Structural Awards 2009“ by the Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
and the “Sustainability Awards 2009" as one of the five most sustainable projects with a budget under £2 million by the UK Green Building Council
UK Green Building Council
The UK Green Building Council is a United Kingdom membership organisation, formed in 2007, which aims to 'radically transform' the way that the built environment in the UK is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated....
and Building Magazine.
Hunsett Mill has been named as one of seven East of England winners in the RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Awards for architectural excellence.