The Old Mill

The Old Mill is a house that incorporates small remains of a watermill. It was used in the 19th century as a laundry for Brome Hall and the Oakley Park estate. The building dates mainly from the late 16th century and 17th century, with several phases of construction, and has a mid-20th century addition to the north. It is timber framed, mostly plastered, and features a pantiled roof. The structure has two storeys and an attic, with various small-paned casement windows. At the south end, there are two small square windows at the upper floor level, likely once used for ventilation in the laundry drying room. A 18th-century lean-to addition extends across part of the front and includes boarded and half-glazed doors, along with a glazed door in the main range. There is one gabled dormer and two stacks with clustered polygonal shafts. A short lean-to on the south gable end was part of the mill, which likely extended to the adjacent wheel channel. The older part of the house is located to the south; the upper floor of the end room has been removed, probably when the laundry was established, and the adjacent bay has plain joists in the ground floor ceiling. The northern half of the building is from the 17th century, featuring one bay of chamfered joists and plain first floor studding. The roof over this section has stepped diminished butt purlins, dating from the later 17th century.