West Winch Windmill

West Winch Windmill is a five-story brick tower in Norfolk designed to harness wind power for grinding grain. The structure has a rotating cap system and tail vane that allow it to turn toward the wind for efficient operation.

The mill was built in 1821 and began operating with wind-powered machinery to mill grain. It worked until 1936 when operations stopped, marking the end of over a century of continuous service to the local farming community.

The mill represents how grain milling shaped village life in Norfolk for over a century. Walking around it, you can see traces of the farming operations that once made this a working center of the community.

The building is a protected heritage site that is best viewed from the exterior. Access to the inside is generally not available to visitors, but you can walk around the structure and observe its architecture from outside.

Beyond the mill tower itself, the site once included a granary, workshop, and bakery that formed a complete production center. A steam engine powered an extra set of grinding stones, showing how the operation adapted to new industrial methods.