Bintry Watermill is a historic watermill located on the

River Wensum The River Wensum is a chalk river in Norfolk, England, Norfolk, England and a tributary of the River Yare, despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservatio ...

, approximately one mile (2 km) west of the village of

Bintree Bintree is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is about south-east of Fakenham and north-west of Norwich. History Bintree's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for ''Bynn ...

in the English county of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

.OS Explorer Map 238 – Dereham & Aylsham, Castle Acre & Reepham. A watermill has likely occupied this site since 1454. The current structure is believed to have been constructed in the 1750s.

Description

The present building is constructed from red Norfolk brick, rising four storeys high with a three-bay design on the south-west elevation. The north-west elevation features two columns of windows. The lower two storeys of the mill date back to the 18th century, while the top floor was added in the 19th century. At the western end of the mill, there is a timber lucam (a covered sack hoist) built with

shiplap Shiplap is a type of wooden board used commonly as exterior siding (construction), siding in the construction of residences, barns, sheds, and outbuildings. Exterior walls Shiplap is either rough-sawn or milled pine or similarly inexpensive woo ...

construction. Although the wheelrace still runs beneath the mill, the waterwheel was removed in 1947 to create additional space for electrically powered machinery. Across the road stands a bridge with a

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

led cornice, from which the wheelrace once discharged back into the river. The corner of the building is cut away to accommodate the curve of the road around the gable.

Miller's cottage

Attached to the east side of the mill is the miller's cottage, which features a chequered-patterned brick gable end. The cottage includes a Georgian doorcase. In the 19th century, the roof was raised to incorporate two dormer windows.

Film set

In 1996, the watermill at Bintry was used by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as a filming location for their adaptation of

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

’s ''

The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans, first published in three volumes on 4 April 1860 by William Blackwood and Sons. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Pub ...

'', which aired on 1 January 1997. The adaptation starred

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Ware ...

as Maggie Tulliver and

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (17 December 1944 – 5 May 2024) was an English actor. He was known for his versatile roles in both television and film, and his career spanned over fifty years. Hill first gained prominence as the troubled hard man Yosser Hughes ...

as Mr. Tulliver. Additionally, the mill served as the location for the 1989 filming of the ''Campion'' episode "Sweet Danger."

References

External links

{{Watermills of Norfolk Watermills in Norfolk