John Savory worked the mill until his death on 27 September 1863, and the mill passed to his son, also named John. In 1869, a law was passed that all trade horses should be licensed. John Savory was convicted in 1870 and fined £5 for having one more horse than he held a licence for. He was again convicted in 1873 and fined £5 for the same offence. The mill was offered for sale by auction on 23 June 1888 at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich. The premises comprising a steam mill powered by a 16 horsepower (12 kW) steam engine driving four pairs of millstones, the watermill driving three pairs of millstones and the windmill, also driving three pairs of millstones. As well as the mills there was a 25-coomb maltings, granaries and various other farm buildings, together with over 40 acres (16 ha) of land. The lot was unsold, and Savory worked the mill until 1900 when it was sold to Sidney Dewing. In 1910, the mill was sold to Sidney Everett, a maltster of Wells-next-the-Sea. In 1914, the mill was tailwinded. It was last worked in 1919.In 1926, the mill was sold to Hugh Hughes, an architect from Grantchester, Cambridgeshire. Hughes had the mill, which had been stripped of machinery by this time, converted to holiday accommodation.

In 1957, restoration work was carried out by Thompson’s, the Alford, Lincolnshire millwrights. A new cap with a gallery, stocks and sails were fitted and the stage was replaced. The mill was given to the National Trust in 1958. In December 1978, the National Trust published plans to restore the mill to working order. This would have involved making the cap able to turn into wind, and the provision of new internal machinery and the conversion of associated building to a shop, along with the provision of car parking facilities. There was opposition from local people, although West Norfolk District Council were in favour of the plans. They were directed by Norfolk County Council to refuse the application due to the inadequate highway in the locality which did not have the capacity to cope with large numbers of visitors. The mill was renovated internally to meet fire safety regulations in 1981. The sails and stocks were removed in 1983 for replacement.[2] Two new 62 feet (18.90 m) long stocks of Jamaican Pitch pine were fitted on 17 July 1985, and four new sails the following day. The new stocks and sails cost £26,500.

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Burnham Overy Staithe Harbour lies between the larger village of Burnham Market, less than 1-mile (1.6 km) to the west, and Holkham, some 3 miles (4.8 km) to the east. The larger town of King’s Lynn is 20 miles (32 km) to the south-west (with the closest railway station), whilst the city of Norwich is 30 miles (48 km) to the south-east.

Burnham Thorpe, the birthplace of Horatio, Admiral Lord Nelson, lies 1-mile (1.6 km) to the south-east. According to various letters and documents, Nelson learned to row and sail a dinghy at Burnham Overy Staithe, at the age of 10, two years before joining the Navy. The village’s only pub is called “The Hero” in his honour.

The civil parish has an area of 8.92 km2 and in the 2001 census had a population of 311 in 167 households, reducing to a population of 134 measured at the 2011 Census.[1] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.

Historically Burnham Overy was the port for the surrounding villages of the Burnhams. Both settlements lie on the River Burn, and until the end of the Middle Ages trading ships were able to reach the village (now Burnham Overy Town). With the silting of the river, commercial traffic switched to the downstream Staithe. With the coming of the railway to the Burnhams in 1866, commercial shipping declined and the last cargo is believed to have been shipped from the Staithe soon after the end of the First World War.

Between Burnham Overy Staithe and the sea, the river spreads out into multiple tidal creeks through the salt marshes that fringe this stretch of coast, and finally reaches the sea by passing through the fronting sand dunes at a gap near Gun Hill locally known as Burnham Harbour. Small boats can reach Burnham Overy Staithe through this gap and creek. Today Burnham Overy Staithe, and the associated harbour, is a recreational sailing centre. It is also the point of departure for seasonal ferries to the Scolt Head Island National Nature Reserve.

To the east of the Burnham Overy creek, the former salt marshes between dry land and the sand dunes have been reclaimed to form fresh water meadows, part of the Holkham estate. A one-and-a-half-mile (2.4 km) long footpath links Burnham Overy Staithe to the sand-dunes and beach, running along the crest of the embankment which protects these water meadows from the creek.

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