Mileham
Encyclopedia
Mileham is a village approximately mid way between East Dereham and Fakenham
Fakenham
Fakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....

 in Mid 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 village sits astride of the B1145
B1145 road
The B1145 runs for about through the county of Norfolk, England, between King’s Lynn and Mundesley. The road is an alternative route to the A47 between Kings Lynn and Norwich by way of the A1067 from Bawdeswell onwards.-History:...

 Kings Lynn to Mundesley
Mundesley
Mundesley is a coastal village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 20.3 miles north-north east of Norwich, 7.3 miles south east of Cromer and 136 miles north east of London. The village lies 5.6 miles north-north east of the town of North Walsham. The nearest...

 road that dissects Mid Norfolk
Mid Norfolk
Mid Norfolk is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...

 west to east.It is the old coaching road from Kings Lynn to Norwich and then onto Great Yarmouth.

The name Mileham comes from the presence of a Mill ( The base of the last one can still be seen from the Litcham Road.)It is a linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....

 in 'High Norfolk', and is also a 'Conservation Village,' centered on Burwood Hall, The Church and The Castle.

There is a ruined Norman
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 castle ( now a nature reserve) near to the site of the Roman Camp and a fine church St John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...

 with some rare stained glass windows.

St John The Baptist
The north tower, which functions as a portal was given by the church’s patron Lord Fitzalan. The churchyard is typical of the country parish church, showing gravestone surrounding the building. A medieval tomb in the churchyard retains the remnants of a cross.
The west window showing Catherine (wheel), John the Baptist (lamb) and Margaret (spearing dragon) is a rare extant example of stained glass of the decorated style. The window was also added by Lord Fitzalon. Colors of green, gold, olive, amber, as well as red and blue distinguish the complex canopies and figures. In the lower half of the window fragments of 15th-century glass include images of an unidentified female saint and St. Margaret.

The site of the original Saxon Village is in the field to the east of the church where you can see the remains of the Saxon ponds.( Could this be the site of the original mill ? )

Mileham Castle ( Also referred to as " Hall Yards" on old maps) is one of the largest motte and bailey castles in Norfolk. It straddles the B1145, a pre-Conquest road that remained the main east-west route through the county until the 17th century. The castle was constructed in about 1100 and its remains form a surprisingly imposing monument consisting of a motte built up around the fragments of a stone keep, two baileys and a further banked rectangular enclosure to the north of the road, which now contains Burwood Hall (built in 1793) and farm buildings. A large wooded deer park was once attached to the south of the castle. The positioning of the castle astride the road is thought to have been connected with raising revenue from a possible market place in the northern enclosure and from tolls on travellers. It is probable that the castle had fallen out of use by about 1300, but before then the tall keep, probably whitewashed, when seen against the green wooded backdrop of the deer park, would have been an impressive sight. (Norfolk HER)

Mileham Tower Windmill first recorded 1860 was built at the end of a long track to the southwest of the village. The four-storey tarred red brick tower had 21 inches (533.4 mm) walls, was 38 feet (11.6 m) high and had a 24 feet (7.3 m) base. The mill used four double-shuttered sails, each with seven bays of three shutters to power four pairs of stones. The upright shaft was a 'graft' shaft of both wood and iron. Two opposite doors were set into the base of the tower on the east and west sides, and another door was on the south side of the meal floor.

According to Geraldine Neale, writing in 1948, a sail broke off the mill in a gale in 1904 and a similar occurrence put the mill out of commission for all time. However, it is not clear whether this was the actual case as in May 1973, G. Rye reported to Philip Unwin that the mill ceased working in 1924 and was dismantled soon after. Interestingly, a photograph of 1934 showed the mill with three broken sails and the fanstage still in situ.

Mileham Post Windmill first recorded in 1775 stood on Mileham or Beeston Common and was actually nearer to Litcham than Mileham. The mill buck stood over a roundhouse and used 2 pairs of French burr stones, a flour mill and a jumper. A horse mill and bake office were also run on the site.

A sketchmap by Geraldine Neale c.1948, showed the postmill to the north of the western end of the east to west track and the towermill at the north end of the south to north track. Geraldine Neale died in 1970 and was the daughter of John Wilkin who was miller at the time the towermill was dismantled in 1902. Her article The Miller's Daughter was published in the Eastern Daily Press on 21 August 1948.

The Mileham Dish from Roman Britain, 4th century AD. The square silver dish was found in 1839. Though it is tempting to assume that it was part of a hoard of silver, there is no record of it being found with any other objects.
It is now held in The British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

.

Edward Coke( pronounced Cook) was born at Mileham Hall ( now demolished), on the First of February 1552. He became Speaker of The House of Commons in 1593 and Attorney General in 1596.

The village has a Primary school, Post Office/General Store (run as a community project) and Village Hall. The Royal Oak public house stood in the village centre up until 1983, but has since been converted into a private residence. The Castle public house closed in 1920, and the Unicorn Inn closed in 1963. Nearby is the source (hence High Norfolk) of the rivers Nar and Wensum.

See also

  • HMS Mileham
    HMS Mileham
    HMS Mileham was a of the Royal Navy.Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Mileham in Norfolk.-References:*Blackman, R.V.B. ed. Jane's Fighting Ships...

    , a Ham class minesweeper
    Ham class minesweeper
    The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers , known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. It took its name from the fact that all the ship names were British place names ending in -"ham"...

  • Matthew Mileham
    Matthew Mileham
    Matthew David Mileham is a retired male hammer thrower from Great Britain, who represented the United Kingdom at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1984. A student of Fresno State University he later worked as a electrical engineer.-Achievements:-References:* *...

    , a British hammer thrower
  • Lacy Barnes-Mileham
    Lacy Barnes-Mileham
    Lacy Barnes-Mileham is a 1996 Atlanta Olympics athlete from the United States. She competed in the women's discus throw event. The USA team sent three athletes to the 1996 Summer Games. Barnes Mileham placed the highest out of her American teammates...

    , an American discus thrower
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