Sygate Mill - a dream come true

As a boy, Alan Lees used to climb to the top of Sygate Mill at Cawston with his brother and spend hours playing in the run-down building. It was always a dream of his to take on the old windmill, restore it and transform it into a useful building once more.

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As a boy, Alan Lees used to climb to the top of Sygate Mill at Cawston with his brother and spend hours playing in the run-down building. It was always a dream of his to take on the old windmill, restore it and transform it into a useful building once more.

Now he has retired, Alan has done just that. With the help of his son Ben and wife Marion, the former grain mill, which was built in 1853, has been converted into a three-bedroom holiday property.

It still retains many of its original features and has a comfortable, welcoming interior which is both unusual and interesting.

“There were originally two mills here,” explained Alan. “This was the white mill, a corn mill. Next to it was the black mill, which was a saw mill. I can remember seeing the sails on this one as a child - although it was no longer a working building.”

The mill, which ceased operating in 1928, was passed down through Alan's family. Alan, who was born in the cottage next to the mill, bought his brother's share when it reached his generation and began his project.

“It had been a dream of mine for so long to do something with the building,” he said. “I am a builder, and my son works with me, so we knew what we were doing. But we did still come up against a number of problems.”

The original mill was five storeys high but it quickly became clear the converted building would have to be lower. Not only was the top of the mill in a poor state but it was also impractical to have rooms on the top floors of the tapering building.

“The other problem was how to get the hexagonal roof on to the round tower,” said Alan. “In the end we needed 24 wall plates to strap it down.”

Through the centre of the windmill there had been a great pillar. The room that is now the sitting room, was once the space that housed the huge central wheel for milling.

“While we had to make some changes in order to make the building useable we also wanted to keep as much of the existing mill as possible,” said Marion. “We kept lots of brickwork and have left original beams in.”

Today, the ground floor of the building has become a round sitting and dining room. The mill's old steam room (used in the early 20th century when there wasn't enough wind to turn the sails) was rebuilt to create two extra bedrooms and a bathroom, also on the ground floor.

At one end of the bathroom, Alan has created an area of shelving through which the curving walls of the mill can be seen. The building's shape is also visible where the kitchen joins on to the sitting room.

The first floor is also a round sitting room. From here you can walk out on to a balcony, which runs round one side of the building, offering views across the open Norfolk country side.

Simple cane furniture in the room complements the brickwork and blends with the revealed timber. In the walls you can still see some of the rope burns from the mill's working days.

A prominent feature in the room is the beautifully crafted black ironwork staircase. Handmade for the Lees, animals and windmills have been worked into the design on each tread.

The third floor of the mill is now the top floor. Although small, this round room has views across the countryside in every direction. Here the walls were plastered and painted in a creamy yellow shade to make the most of the natural light.

A clever contraption, allowing a trapdoor to be lowered across the mouth of the stairwell, to give more space and for safety reasons, has been cleverly designed by Ben.

“When it came to furnishing the mill we did have to think carefully,” said Marion. “Not only were the walls round but the rooms were also very small. The result is that there are no wardrobes in top bedroom and the bed had to be built in the room.”

Alan added: “But we are very pleased with the way it has all worked out and it is wonderful to see the building in use again.”

CREATE THE LOOK

t Exposed brickwork was cleaned up by the Lees and left as an integral feature of the property

t Rope burns and other nooks and crannies were also left in walls and ceilings to help retain the character of the building

t The staircase and other ironwork was made blacksmith David Capes, call (01603) 880273 for more information

t Curtains in the mill were made by Caroline Duncan, call (01603) 871425 for more information

t For more information on Sygate Mill, visit www.norfolkcottages.co.uk or call (01603) 871872.