Baylham Watermill And Mill House

Baylham Watermill and Mill House is a Grade II* listed watermill and mill house located on Mill Lane in Baylham. The house consists of two sections, dating from the early 16th century or earlier, and the mid-19th century. It features a central late-medieval block that is two bays wide and two storeys high, constructed with timber framing and plastered walls, topped with a plaintiled roof. The house includes an 18th-century casement window with a transom and hinged boarded shutters, along with another window above that has leaded glazing but no shutters. The entrance door is likely from the 16th century, with a segmental arch above it and flanking carved oak heads that were added later. To the left, there is a two-storey 19th-century range built of gault brick with a hip slate roof, featuring a four-panelled entrance door and small-pane sash windows.

The mill itself dates from the early or mid-19th century and stands three storeys tall, with storage bins in a fourth attic storey. The ground floor is made of red brick, which has been painted, while the upper storeys are timber-framed and weatherboarded, also covered with plaintiled roofs. It has small-paned sash and hopper windows, along with boarded doors. A two-storey gabled weatherboarded hoist is cantilevered on diagonal braces. At the rear, there is a short full-height wing. The main machinery includes a cast iron breast-shoe waterwheel mounted on an iron shaft, which drives a wooden lineshaft through an all-iron pitwheel and pinion. There are three pairs of millstones on a hurst frame, driven by three wooden compass-arm gearwheels mounted on the lineshaft, although two of these are now incomplete. Additionally, two further pairs of stones can be powered by water or an auxiliary oil engine made by E.R. & F. Turner of Ipswich. All five pairs of stones are complete with their associated equipment, along with much ancillary machinery. This is the only complete watermill on the River Gipping.