FIRE AT BUXTON MILL, NORFOLK

This article discusses the

major reconstruction of a watermill

after fire damage.

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

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

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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