Qualla: Denver Windmill

Denver Windmill: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Guy Erwood, CC BY-SA 2.0. On 4 October 2011, while Denver Windmill was freewheeling in the wind, one of its steel stocks sheared near the canister. The break spread on three sides, the bottom folded, and a sail crashed into the one below it, scattering debris across the site. At that moment, the mill yard was full of diners. A group of children from Clenchwarton Primary School were in the middle of a visit — some inside the windmill, others eating lunch in the Tea Garden. The staff stopped the mill immediately and moved everyone to safety. No one was hurt. The windmill that had been milling grain in the Norfolk Fens since 1835 survived to mill again.

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Image: Guy Erwood | CC BY-SA 2.0

Denver Windmill: Built for John Porter

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ashley Dace, CC BY-SA 2.0. Denver Windmill was built in 1835 for John Porter, replacing an earlier post mill that had been recorded on the 1824 Ordnance Survey map. The tower bears a datestone reading JMP 1835. It is a six-storey tower mill with a stage at third-floor level; the tower stands 59 feet high t...

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Image: Ashley Dace | CC BY-SA 2.0

Denver Windmill: A Century of Millers

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dave Spicer, CC BY-SA 2.0. The mill passed through a small number of hands across nearly a century and a half. John Porter ran it from 1835 to 1853; John Gleaves took over until 1873, then James Gleaves until 1896; Thomas Edward Harris then Thomas Edwin Harris between them covered 1896 to 1969. James Gleav...

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Image: Dave Spicer | CC BY-SA 2.0

Denver Windmill: A Million Pounds to Grind Again

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tony Bennett, CC BY-SA 2.0. Restoring Denver Windmill to full working order cost over £1 million. The funding came from multiple sources: the European Regional Development Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Norfolk County Council, the Rural Development Commission, and a loan from the Architectural Heritage Fu...

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Image: Tony Bennett | CC BY-SA 2.0

Denver Windmill: Screen Time and Stone Ground

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nick Toulson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Denver Windmill appeared in the 1992 filming of an episode of 'Allo 'Allo! titled "Fighting with Windmills." In 2012 it featured in the BBC2 series Alex Polizzi: The Fixer, which followed the management consultant as she attempted to turn around struggling family businesses. The ...

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Image: Nick Toulson | CC BY-SA 2.0