Berney Arms

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Berney Arms Mill.

Berney Arms is a place on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, is administered by the district of Broadland and lies within The Broads National Park. It comprises a railway station, a windpump, a public house and a farm, but no houses.

Berney Arms can be reached only by train, by boat or on foot; there is no road access. Berney Arms railway station is a request stop on the Norwich-Great Yarmouth via Reedham line, although only two trains in each direction are timetabled to run this way Monday to Saturday, with more services running on Sundays. Access on foot involves walking the 3½ miles from Halvergate, or along the edge of Breydon Water to Great Yarmouth.

Berney Arms takes its name from the landowner Thomas Trench Berney, via the name given to the railway station. Berney sold the land on which the railway was built only on the condition that a station was built to serve the area. A pub, called The Berney Arms, is situated nearby and serves the community of walkers and boaters who pass through the area. The pub serves Woodforde's Real Ale, brewed in nearby Woodbastwick.

Besides the pub, the main focus is Berney Arms combined Mill and Windpump. This is the tallest windmill in Norfolk, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is in the care of English Heritage. The mill is 21m tall, and the span of the sails is about the same. It has seven floors. It was built around 1870 by the millwright firm of Stolworthy. At first, it was used to grind cement clinker. Later it was also used as a windpump to drain the marshland. The large scoop wheel is evidence of that use. The windpump was in use until 1951, and is now operated as a tourist attraction. On 24 May 2007 the restored sails of the mill were put back in place after nearly seven years.

Berney Marshes is a nature reserve in the care of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and part of the Halvergate Marshes. The RSPB uses Ashtree Farm, the only other significant building remaining in the settlement, as its local headquarters.

Berney Arms Reach is the name for the part of the River Yare as it enters Breydon Water.