The Denver Mill has had all four sails and its stock removed. Picture: Ian Burt

The owners of a historic mill in the Fens have been given a boost in their fundraising campaign to restore a “much-loved landmark” to its former glory.

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The Garfield Weston Foundation has given £15,000 to the Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust (NHBT) which needs to raise £100,000 to get the sails at Denver Mill, near Downham Market, turning again.

Denver Mill was one of the country’s last working windmills until a sail broke off and showered debris around the complex last October.

Three sails were removed shortly after the incident with the final sail and stock taken off earlier this month by the Norfolk Millwright Alliance and Wave Trade.

Dr Douglas Munro, secretary of the trust, has said the donation by the Garfield Weston Foundation is a “very encouraging start”.

He said: “We hope very much that other grant-making organisations will also help the trust to restore the wind-powering of the Mill.

“Denver Mill is an important part of Norfolk’s heritage, and the trust very much wants to see it back in action.”

Dr Munro said the trust played a key role in restoring the complex, which now boasts a bakery, shop and café, between 1995 and 2000, at a cost of more than £1 million.

He also said the trust has spent more than £100,000 in repairs in recent years and the incident at the complex in October came as a “big blow”.

The trust’s insurance policy for the complex, he said, specifically excludes “latent defects, gradual deterioration, and wear and tear”.

Dr Munro continued: “As a result, we are left facing an unexpected six-figure bill – having already spent that much on the mill in the past two and a half years.

“Frankly, the trust cannot afford this. Not only do we have about twenty other properties to look after but also last April we lost our annual grant from Norfolk County Council, which we had been receiving for just this purpose for many years.”

He added: “The trust will continue to try to raise the £100,000, and looks forward to being able to restore a much-loved landmark.”

Mark and Lindsey Abel rent the six-storey building from the trust. Mrs Abel said: “The fact the trust are looking to raise the money for the repairs can only be seen as a positive thing.

“We have had so many people come in here asking about the fundraising and I don’t think the trust realise how much public support there is here.

“If the trust appealed for members of the public for donations, I am sure hundreds of pounds – if not thousands - would be sent straight away.”

Denver Mill has towered over the Fens for 176 years and was given to the county in 1969 before being sold to the NHBT by Norfolk County Council.

The Abels took over in 2008 to promote and preserve traditional country life and the complex, south of Downham Market, quickly become a popular tourist attraction.