The windpump now situated on the Sedge Fen,the only working wooden
windpump remaining in the Fens, was originally sited on Adventuers’ Fen. It was known
as (Bill) Norman’s Mill, and was used to drain and control water levels in turf
(peat) digging pits.
It is known that a pump stood on the site in 1886, but its date of
construction is unclear. The internal workings of this original pump were re-used in
1908, when Hunts of Soham built a skeleton mill at the site. It was weatherboarded in
1910, and underwent several renovations before being abandoned in the late 1940s. Turf
digging on Adventurers’ Fen had long since ceased, and the pump had been used at the
end to help drain the land for food production during World War II.
The derelict windpump was dismantled in 1955, and restored to
working order. Lord Fairhaven, of Anglesey Abbey, was instrumental in rescuing the
windpump. A carpenter from Histon, CJ Ison, undertook the rebuilding work. The windpump
was erected on Sedge Fen in 1956. It no longer drains, however, as when it is now put to
use, it pumps water onto the Sedge Fen.
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