Urgent repairs carried out on 19th Century windmill

Work already done on the windmill included replacing some of the brickwork due to deterioration

Urgent repair work has been carried out to restore and maintain a 19th Century windmill.

The work has been carried out on Dereham Windmill, in Norfolk, to weatherproof deteriorating brick work and remove moss from the exterior.

It was made derelict in 1937 and opened to the public in 2013 as a community exhibition centre hosting events and art exhibitions across five floors.

Philippa Whittington, trustee of Dereham Windmill, said: "I only moved to Dereham a couple of years ago and it's a good way of getting to know people and getting to know things that are going on and it's nice to see something that is used for the community and it is staffed entirely by volunteers."

Philippa Whittington said repairs to the building will be ongoing with urgent repairs being carried out first

Built in 1836 by millwright James Hardy for Michael Hardy, a miller and baker, it ceased work as a mill in 1937 and was left derelict more than a decade later.

The building received grade II listed status in 1972 and was opened to the public in 2013.

The mill opened to the community for events and exhibitions in 2013

Previously it underwent a number of renovations including work on the sails and was boarded up for some time to keep it weatherproof after failed funding attempts.

She said: "We had a number of work we had to do in getting rid of the moss on the outside and making sure the windmill was waterproof because we were suffering from a lot of water coming in through the bricks that were deteriorating so we are very pleased at the work that has been done."

Ms Whittington said the work will be carried out in phases, with the urgent repairs done first.

She said repairs will remain ongoing due to money strains.

"The idea is to keep it looking as it was shortly after 1836 when it was built, so it's really maintaining that building and making sure it doesn't deteriorate too much.

"The bricks tend of deteriorate in the weather, we have to make sure we replace them from time to time."

Surveys carried out also show work will need to be undertaken on the cap of the windmill too.