Hagon Beck
Encyclopedia
Hagon Beck is a minor watercourse
which rises in the north of the English
county of Norfolk
. It falls into Great Lake in Gunton Park, which in turn feeds Suffield Beck. Suffield Beck is a tributary of Blackwater Beck which in turn joins the River Bure. Its spring
is a little north of the North Norfolk
village of Roughton
. There were two watermills on the beck. The first was located at Gunton, and the second is a sawmill in Suffield Park.
of 1068 records a watermill on Hagon Beck at Gunton that continued working right through the medieval period. The estate on which the mill stood was sold in 1676, and by then the mill had ceased to work, although a map that was provided in the sale particulars showed that the millpond still remained. The millpond was still shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1838, although, by the time this map was published, Hagon Beck had been dammed to form the lake known as Great Water to the north of the mill. It is likely that it was the damming of the beck that caused the demise of Gunton Watermill. Great Water was created to feed Gunton Park Sawmill.
It is the only surviving water powered sawmill in Norfolk. It was constructed as a simple timber-framed building open on three sides. It has a hipped thatched roof of the local Norfolk reed. Hagon Beck fed the lake, and the mill was set below the water level which provided the power to drive two identical 12 feet (3.7 m), 5 feet (1.5 m) breastshot wheels via a guillotine gate. One wheel powered the main 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) flywheel driven reciprocating saw, and the other was set to drive a circular saw and ancillary equipment, including a small corn mill that was also included at the mill site. The outflow from the sawmill then became Hagon Beck once more, eventually rejoining the original watercourse.
Saw Mill Photos
Watercourse
A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, anabranches, and so forth.-See also:* physical geography* Environmental flow* Waterway* Hydrology* Wadi-External links:...
which rises in the north of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of 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...
. It falls into Great Lake in Gunton Park, which in turn feeds Suffield Beck. Suffield Beck is a tributary of Blackwater Beck which in turn joins the River Bure. Its spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
is a little north of the North Norfolk
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Its council is based in Cromer. The council headquarters can be found approximately out of the town of Cromer on the Holt Road.-History:...
village of Roughton
Roughton, Norfolk
Roughton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south of Cromer, north of Norwich and north-west of North Walsham. The village straddles the A140 between Cromer and Norwich and the B1463. The nearest railway station is at Roughton Road for the Bittern...
. There were two watermills on the beck. The first was located at Gunton, and the second is a sawmill in Suffield Park.
Gunton Watermill
The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1068 records a watermill on Hagon Beck at Gunton that continued working right through the medieval period. The estate on which the mill stood was sold in 1676, and by then the mill had ceased to work, although a map that was provided in the sale particulars showed that the millpond still remained. The millpond was still shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1838, although, by the time this map was published, Hagon Beck had been dammed to form the lake known as Great Water to the north of the mill. It is likely that it was the damming of the beck that caused the demise of Gunton Watermill. Great Water was created to feed Gunton Park Sawmill.
Gunton Park Sawmill
Gunton Park Sawmill was built as a sawmill in the 1820s to provide sawn timber for the 12000 acres (4,856.2 ha) Gunton Hall Estate.It is the only surviving water powered sawmill in Norfolk. It was constructed as a simple timber-framed building open on three sides. It has a hipped thatched roof of the local Norfolk reed. Hagon Beck fed the lake, and the mill was set below the water level which provided the power to drive two identical 12 feet (3.7 m), 5 feet (1.5 m) breastshot wheels via a guillotine gate. One wheel powered the main 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) flywheel driven reciprocating saw, and the other was set to drive a circular saw and ancillary equipment, including a small corn mill that was also included at the mill site. The outflow from the sawmill then became Hagon Beck once more, eventually rejoining the original watercourse.
Saw Mill Photos