All of the local water mills were fed by the River Ant / North Walsham & Dilham Canal and were served by wherries sailing on the canal.
Antingham Bone Mills
Unusually Antingham had two watermills. Both were within a half a mile of each other, Antingham Upper and Antingham Lower. Both were bone mills and it appears both were under the same ownership.
The upper and smaller mill was built at the canal end of Antingham Pond. The mill was connected to the main canal by a short waterway allowing a small fleet of boats to be used to transport goods between the two mills until the channel was filled in c.1905. Bones from local butchers and slaughterhouses were crushed along with phosphates from ocean islands that arrived in the form of ships’ ballast, which was then transported by rail to North Walsham station or by wherry up the canal. This section of the canal remained navigable until 1893 when Swafield staithe became the terminus.
- Built: pre 1836
- ‘Upper’ converted to house: 1946
- ‘Lower’ demolished: 1958
Bacton Wood Mill
Bacton Wood water mill at Spa Common, was on a Domesday site. The wheel powered three pairs of stones; two pairs were French burr stones and the other was of a composite material for animal grist.
- Current mill built:1747
- Modified: 1825 in anticipation of an increase in trade due to the opening of the North Walsham & Dilham Canal in 1826
- Closed: 1944
- Restoration begun: 1984
Briggate Mill
Briggate watermill was actually at Worstead and some knew it as Worstead Mill. The last version of the mill was three storeys high and originally consisted of weatherboarding set onto the wooden frame that was in turn built into the brick base of the ground floor. The site was quite large and the mill once employed twelve people but at the time of closure in 1969 there was only one employee left. The owners Cubitt & Walker, then moved the milling activities to Ebridge
Ebridge Mill
Ebridge Mill was also sometimes known as North Walsham Mill. The mill remained in the ownership of the family within Cubitt & Walker Ltd from 1869 – 1998 when it was sold to Duffields and subsequently closed. During the 1800s Ebridge mill was worked in conjunction with the nearby Ebridge tower mill on Mill Hill
- Built: pre1842
- Closed: 1998
- Conversion to homes from: 2015
