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Buxton Mill is a four storey watermill dominating the small rural village of Buxton on the River Bure ten miles north of Norwich. The first mention of a mill at Buxton is c1066, recorded in the Domesday Book. The present structure is believed to date from c1754, although a description of 1960 mentions a stone over a doorway with the date
1654.
The Mill was planned by a William Pepper, originally as a brick building. The building was altered and extended during the 19th century, when milling in England was at its peak, with the addition of two floors and rear extension, both of timber framed construction.
The Mill was altered
again
during the 20th century when water milling was in decline. In 1902 the old
5
m diameter water wheel was removed and replaced by a horizontal turbine. The timber framing of the upper two floors was largely replaced with modern brickwork. Milling ceased at the Mill in 1970 when the
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machinery and the lucams (sack hoists) to the front and rear of the Mill were removed. After 1970 the Mill was used first as an art gallery, then as a restaurant and craft workshops. The timber weather boarding and windows were replaced by
UPVC
in the 1980s. The Mill is listed Grade II.
The Mill was virtually destroyed by fire in January 1991. All that remained were the two storey brick walls to the front and sides, the ground floor and part of the first floor. The remains of the upper floors were in dangerous structural condition after the fire and were demolished. The building was adequately insured and the owner and Local Authority decided that the Mill should be rebuild to the original design as far as possible.
There was a lack of evidence of the original construction on which to base reconstruction. All that was available were a few sketches and photographs of
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the exterior, the remaining timber framing to the lower floors at the rear, the badly burnt first floor framing, a pile of burnt beams and posts and photographs of the building immediately following the fire. Careful measurements, however, were taken of the burned timbers and their joints. Analysis of these and the photographic evidence enabled the reconstruction of the frame to be planned. This was supplemented by knowledge of the construction of similar buildings and visits to surviving timber framed water mills throughout East Anglia.
The requirements of the current Building Regulations had to be met and this included rectifying structural deficiencies in the original building construction. The timber (pitch pine) sections previously used in the framing were undersized and posts had been inserted where beams had failed. The lack of adequate bracing and poorly designed
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