St Edmundsbury Local History - Pictures of Pakenham Watermill

Pakenham Watermill

Pakenham Watermill
Suffolk's last working watermill

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Pakenham Information Board 1
History of Pakenham Watermill
Pakenham Information Board 2
The mill in decay, 1974 to 1978
Pakenham Information Board 3
The restoration work in progress

View from rear of mill, across Pakenham Mill Pond to Pakenham Fen
Pakenham windmill can be seen on the ridge
Pakenham Mill Pond
The water supply for the mill comes from Pakenham Fen. This view shows the water level being above the ground floor of the mill, an improvement made in 1814 to drive a breast shot wheel.
Pakenham Mill Pond overflow
Excess water in the millpond is allowed to escape around the mill

Pakenham Mill water inlet sluice
Showing where water enters the mill to drive the wheel. Again, note the water level being above the ground floor level of the miller's house.
Pakenham Information Board 5
Details of controlling water supply to the wheel, which is a "breasthot" wheel. Before 1814 the wheel was the inefficient undershot design. In 1814 Charles Lowe installed this new design, and had to build up the banks of the mill pond to raise the water level to the right height. The 1814 wheel was made of wood and iron, and needed replacing by 1898.
Pakenham Water wheel is 16 feet high, and is the source of the mill's power.
Each spoke bears the impress 'W PECK BURY'. This cast iron wheel was originally designed by Walter Peck, millwright of Sparhawk Street, Bury St Edmunds, and cast at Cornish and Lloyd's foundry in Risbygate Street, Bury, in 1898.

Pakenham Water wheel
Showing the eight feet width of the wheel, and the 'buckets' which catch the water. The buckets in this picture date from 1898, but in 2011 all 140 cast iron buckets were replaced by corten steel. It is the weight of water which drives the wheel, not the force of flow of the water.
Pakenham Information Board 6
Details of the water wheel and "W Peck Bury"
Pakenham Information Board 4
Diagrammatic section through Pakenham Watermill
Showing how power is taken from the wheel, through various gears, to grind corn.

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Pakenham Information Board 1 History of Pakenham Watermill	Pakenham Information Board 2 The mill in decay, 1974 to 1978	Pakenham Information Board 3 The restoration work in progress
View from rear of mill, across Pakenham Mill Pond to Pakenham Fen Pakenham windmill can be seen on the ridge	Pakenham Mill Pond The water supply for the mill comes from Pakenham Fen. This view shows the water level being above the ground floor of the mill, an improvement made in 1814 to drive a breast shot wheel.	Pakenham Mill Pond overflow Excess water in the millpond is allowed to escape around the mill
Pakenham Mill water inlet sluice Showing where water enters the mill to drive the wheel. Again, note the water level being above the ground floor level of the miller's house.	Pakenham Information Board 5 Details of controlling water supply to the wheel, which is a "breasthot" wheel. Before 1814 the wheel was the inefficient undershot design. In 1814 Charles Lowe installed this new design, and had to build up the banks of the mill pond to raise the water level to the right height. The 1814 wheel was made of wood and iron, and needed replacing by 1898.	Pakenham Water wheel is 16 feet high, and is the source of the mill's power. Each spoke bears the impress 'W PECK BURY'. This cast iron wheel was originally designed by Walter Peck, millwright of Sparhawk Street, Bury St Edmunds, and cast at Cornish and Lloyd's foundry in Risbygate Street, Bury, in 1898.
Pakenham Water wheel Showing the eight feet width of the wheel, and the 'buckets' which catch the water. The buckets in this picture date from 1898, but in 2011 all 140 cast iron buckets were replaced by corten steel. It is the weight of water which drives the wheel, not the force of flow of the water.	Pakenham Information Board 6 Details of the water wheel and "W Peck Bury"	Pakenham Information Board 4 Diagrammatic section through Pakenham Watermill Showing how power is taken from the wheel, through various gears, to grind corn.