Description
This image illustrates both Devils Country and Horsey Wind-pump.
Horsey Wind-pump has had a dramatic history. It’s survived floods, a lightning strike, a collapse, storms and gale force winds.
Standing on the site of previous mills, Horsey Wind-pump is the youngest and one of the largest wind-pumps on the Norfolk Broads.
In 1797 Horsey was a wild and desolate place, known locally as the Devil’s Country due to its wild and lawless nature. The Enclosures Act paved the way for the land to be drained and changed the area forever.
The name Horsey means ‘Horse Island’ and it is believed that Horsey was originally a stud or grazing area for horses.
Mortality was high, with insects carrying fen plague, also known as marsh malaria. With only seven cottages and a small farmhouse, Horsey was not somewhere people wanted to live.
At this time, it was effectively still an island, surrounded by marshes with just one road in and out of the village that was often flooded for most of the year. The vicar of the parish reported that he nearly drowned on three occasions while travelling to the church to give his sermon.
Image size: 3992×2992
File size: 3.3MB
DPI: 240
Bit: 24 bit
Colour: Yes
Property/model release: No
Edited: Yes. Adobe Lightroom CC
Location: Devil’s Country, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Year took: 2020
Copyright owner: J. J. Williamson
