who saved thurne mill

Ronald Dorian Morse and his family relocated to Norfolk in 1947, moving from their hometown of Henfield in West Sussex. Following a holiday earlier in the year the family decided to move to Norfolk. Ronald’s mother felt that the fresh air, water, and vast rural expanses would be great for her three boys well, young men by then!

Ronald Dorian Morse, known as Bob, was the youngest of the three and had a tremendous passion for windmills, indeed, anything mechanical. His ambition was to own a windmill. Thankfully, Thurne Mill Windpump came onto the market and his dream soon become reality when he purchased it from the Internal Drainage Board in 1949 for £75.00. This was the beginning of what is now known as The Wind Energy Collection.

When Bob initially bought the mill, it was in extremely poor condition and had ceased to work in 1936. The internal floors, doors and windows had gone. The sails and fantail needed to be replaced and the brickwork required immediate attention. Bob wasted no time and began work straight away. He hired Albert England, a direct descendant of the millwright Dan England of Ludham who had built the mill in 1820. Between them they repaired and re-painted the tower for a grand total of £7.0s.0d - it cost approximately £10,000 for the last repaint in 2018.

Image of Bob Morse in the early 1950’s