The Hall, malthouse and malt-kilns stood on the riverbank.
William Hardy made the bold decision in 1784 to convert his maltings and brewery to water power, all the stages of the work being recorded in his wife’s diary.
Until then the malt had been crushed by an elderly horse harnessed in a horse gin.
 
The brewer cut a brick-floored channel from the River Glaven to run under his malthouse, through the brewery yard, and under the main Cromer road to rejoin the river flowing north at the point just downstream of the road bridge built in 1818 by his son William Hardy junior (1770–1842).
The cascade north of the bridge, immediately upstream of the tailrace exit, reflects the drop to the waterwheel newly installed in the adjacent tunnel.
The wheel could be set in either breast-shot or undershot positions according to the water flow.

As an offshoot of this mechanisation William Hardy decided to grind wheat for flour, using separate sets of grindstones for malt and wheat.
Although he was maximising his investment he ran into competition with the miller at the centuries-old Letheringsett Watermill only 137 metres (150 yd) upstream, provoking a legal battle over water rights in 1786.
That mill was considerably rebuilt and enlarged in 1798, although owing to the owner Zebulon Rouse’s bankruptcy it did not go into production until 1802.
The resulting increase in production by the competitor may have led to William Hardy junior’s decision, as the new owner, to cease producing flour.
The Hall, malthouse and malt-kilns stood on the riverbank. William Hardy made the bold decision in 1784 to convert his maltings and brewery to water power, all the stages of the work being recorded in his wife’s diary. Until then the malt had been crushed by an elderly horse harnessed in a horse gin.  
The brewer cut a brick-floored channel from the River Glaven to run under his malthouse, through the brewery yard, and under the main Cromer road to rejoin the river flowing north at the point just downstream of the road bridge built in 1818 by his son William Hardy junior (1770–1842). The cascade north of the bridge, immediately upstream of the tailrace exit, reflects the drop to the waterwheel newly installed in the adjacent tunnel. The wheel could be set in either breast-shot or undershot positions according to the water flow.
As an offshoot of this mechanisation William Hardy decided to grind wheat for flour, using separate sets of grindstones for malt and wheat. Although he was maximising his investment he ran into competition with the miller at the centuries-old Letheringsett Watermill only 137 metres (150 yd) upstream, provoking a legal battle over water rights in 1786. That mill was considerably rebuilt and enlarged in 1798, although owing to the owner Zebulon Rouse’s bankruptcy it did not go into production until 1802. The resulting increase in production by the competitor may have led to William Hardy junior’s decision, as the new owner, to cease producing flour.
Letheringsett Brewery watermill