The Wilderness

The Wilderness is a house dating from the mid-to-late 18th century with additions circa 1840. Originally marked on Ordnance Survey maps as Becket Mill, it is constructed of ashlar with a stone-tiled mansard roof to the earlier section and a slate, low-pitched hipped roof to the later west end.

The original two-storey and attic range is double-fronted and features a mansard roof, coped gables, and end wall stacks. A single dormer is present. It has two 16-pane sash windows on each floor, and a raised band with a blocked central door in a raised moulded surround. The rear features an ashlar stair tower with a hipped roof, flanked by outshut roofs.

A large range was added around 1840 for G. Mullins. The west front of this section has three windows, with 16-pane outer sashes, a 12-pane first-floor centre sash, and a projecting ashlar enclosed porch with a pilaster surround to double doors. The ground floor windows on the west front also have margin lights. A similar ground floor window is located on the south end, with a floor band and a sunk panel containing a small oval light above. A three-storey north end wall completes this section.

The site sits on part of the location of a large Roman villa and a medieval mill site. Deeds from 1727 mention two tenements and two water-powered grist mills.