Buildings 8, 9 and 10 and the perimeter wall at Cromford Mill

Buildings 8, 9 and 10 and the perimeter wall at Cromford Mill

These are late 18th-century buildings—a stable block, coach house and warehouse—that have been altered and converted into a cafe, offices and giftshop in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The structures are built of dressed stone with some late 20th- or early 21st-century brick and concrete breeze block alterations, roofed in slate. The buildings are rectangular on plan, oriented north-west to south-east.

Buildings 8 and 9

The north-west elevation of these single-storey buildings (with attic room at the north-east end) is constructed of ashlar stone, set back at the north-east end where it adjoins the rubble stone perimeter wall. On the ground floor is a timber casement window with four glazing panels over vertical wood panelling, and a four-panel wooden door with stone step. Further right is a semi-circular archway with modern glazing panels and wooden double doors with six panes each. Above this archway on the first floor is a timber casement window with six panes.

The facade projects forward in dressed stone to the west, with a large opening infilled with a late 20th- or early 21st-century low breeze block wall containing an off-centre doorway. The timber entrance door has 12 glazing panes above a wooden panel. Wooden framed glazing is situated to either side from wall to ceiling and above the doorway, with five top hung casement windows across the top. The end wall to the right is brick.

The facade continues in dressed stone to the right. There is a wooden casement window with nine panes under a stone lintel, to the left of a raised doorway with wooden door also under a stone lintel. To the right is a doorway with modern wood and glazed door, flanked by wooden casement windows each with six panes under a stone lintel. Modern steps and accessibility ramps are in front of the building.

The south-east (rear) elevation facing the road is a dressed stone wall without openings, except for two modern skylight openings in the roof.

Inside, the north-east end houses a modern kitchen space. A doorway leads from the kitchen into the cafe area, which is open to the roof with exposed modern metal truss and purlins and skylight. The interior walls are a mixed combination of dressed stone and rubble stone, painted white, above a modern dado rail and plaster walls with wooden skirting boards. The south-west end is divided into public toilets with modern plaster walls, partitions and ceiling.

Building 10

This building has a symmetrical composition over three storeys with a hipped roof and chimney stack at the north-east end. The principal north-west elevation has five bays. The ground floor has a central entrance door and window openings in the other four bays. The ground and first floors have eight-over-eight sash windows with glazing bars; the second floor has single-pane casement windows. A blocked door and lintel appear on the ground floor at the very south-west end. The second floor has unglazed window openings thought to be associated with cheese warehousing. Windows have shutters remaining behind inserted single panes of glass set within slim frames.

The rear south-east elevation has five single-pane casement windows on the second floor but is otherwise blank.

The south-west elevation has a window gate post attached and lean-to scarring. There is a wooden six-panel door with stone lintel. On the first floor is an eight-over-eight plain sash window; on the second floor a single-pane casement window. The north-east elevation adjoins building 9.

The ground floor is used as a giftshop in an open-plan space, with a small side room to the south-west used as a kitchen, containing a 12-pane window. The first and second floors are in use as offices. The second floor has exposed beams with a pulley system attached.

Perimeter Wall

The mill's perimeter wall encloses the main yard at the east end and extends north and west to meet Scarthin Rock. The wall is principally constructed of millstone grit rubble but includes some limestone elements, suggesting an earlier wall has been altered and increased in height to improve security. The wall meets the former stable block at the south-east end of the site and continues north-west, with a 20th-century opening containing timber gates leading to the site's visitor car park. The wall continues north-west to enclose the mill yard before turning west to meet Scarthin Rock.