Strutt & Parker has launched Cley Windmill in North Norfolk for sale at £2.65m, offering buyers an established hospitality business within one of the county’s best-known landmarks.
Positioned beside the Cley marshes at Cley-next-the-Sea, the five-storey tower overlooks the Glaven Valley, Blakeney Point and the North Sea.
The property currently operates as a guesthouse, self-catering retreat and wedding venue. Its accommodation is spread across the windmill and converted former stables and boathouses, while its wedding operation can host up to 50 guests and sleep 22.
Cley Windmill is included on the National Heritage List for England at Grade II*, a designation reserved for particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Historic England’s listing describes its brick tower, fixed cap and sails, second-floor balcony and surviving internal mill machinery.
FROM WORKING MILL TO HOSPITALITY BUSINESS
The windmill was operating by the early 19th century and remained in commercial use until the early 20th century. It was converted into holiday accommodation in 1921 and opened as a guesthouse in April 1983.
Extensive restoration has taken place over subsequent decades, including work to its cap gallery, sails, fantail and balcony. The current business offers bed-and-breakfast stays, self-catering accommodation, private house parties and weddings.
Its distinctive profile has also made it a familiar screen location. The windmill’s official history records appearances in the 1949 MGM film Conspirator, starring Elizabeth Taylor, the television series The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and programmes presented by naturalist David Bellamy. It was also used as a BBC One continuity image.
JAMES BLUNT FAMILY CONNECTION
The property has a close connection to singer-songwriter James Blunt, whose family name is Blount.
Lieutenant Colonel Hubert Blount inherited the mill in 1934. It later passed to his son, Colonel Charles Blount – James Blunt’s father – following Hubert’s death in 1979.
Blunt has previously recalled spending considerable time at Cley and described the mill as his father’s home. The singer’s family sold the property before its later restoration and development as a boutique hospitality venue.
NORFOLK LANDMARK RETURNS TO MARKET
The sale combines an unusual heritage property with an operational leisure business in one of North Norfolk’s most sought-after coastal locations.
The mill stands close to Cley Marshes, which forms part of the wider nature reserve landscape around Blakeney, and benefits from uninterrupted views across salt and freshwater marshes towards the coast.
Its latest instruction marks a return to Strutt & Parker, which also marketed the property when it was offered for sale in 2019.
