In 2015 the Bone Mill Restoration Project was started with a £92,200 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The main aims of the project were to restore the rusted water wheel and repair the damaged brick walls and pier. Specialist contractors were used for this work. Additional requirements were conditional for getting the grant including a number of workshops and day schools listed below and visits by local schools.
Before work could start on the walls and water wheel, volunteers had to clear the areas to be worked on, they then carried on clearing the site to reveal features and areas of interest. There were many interesting finds including a human skull bone and chain elevator.
A Geophysical survey was carried out to reveal hidden features but this was not successful and did not provide any useful information.
The millstones had metal bands made to hold them together and they were put on display on the riverbank at an angle to allow water to run off, and so they can be seen from the footpath on the opposite bank.
The gate frame over the guillotine lock was made from Oak beams and fitted to match the original from the photo. Tunnel ends and trench walls were repaired to make them safe and conserve these features.
Day schools and workshops were arranged for:
Photography of heritage sites Archival Research
History of the Bone Mill Interpretation for heritage sites
Wildlife Surveys Mills of Breckland
River Nar Navigation Lynn to Dereham Railway
Whaling Industry History of Narborough
Venerating our Ancestors Industrial Mills
The site owners and volunteers were keen to undertake the investigation into the feasibility of running the water wheel which was part of the original application, the success of this resulted in us regularly turning the wheel at open days.
Making Interpretation panels (information signs) for the footpath opposite and on site was achieved, we also have a box of cards on the signpost frame which walkers can take to view the website. We also made explanation signs which are put by the various features at open days to explain them.
Downloadable leaflets for Bone Mill History and Walks are effectively available on the relevant website pages.
Setting up and maintaining a website was a condition of the grant, the website has been live since the early days of the project and is still constantly updated twice a month.
Opening to the public several times a year was one of the conditions of the grant which we started in the first year and has continued ever since, we also invite walkers across our footbridge to look round when volunteers are on site to view our visitor centre.
All aspects of the grant were fulfilled at an early stage, we also enhanced the project beyond the grant scope by adding a visitor centre with finds on display and a volunteer room for shelter as well as a workshop for maintenance. We also made a wildflower meadow and improved the site for wildlife with our green grant project which also added solar power for lighting and multimedia screens.
UPDATE: 2025 marks the 10 year anniversary of starting the project, we will celebrate this at our open days in May and September with pictures of the restoration.