Lapford Mill and associated leat system

This is a late 19th-century water-powered corn mill, rebuilt on the site of an earlier mill. The mill closed in 1948 and was restored in the late 20th century. It is constructed of stone with brick dressings around the openings and quoins, all set beneath a slate roof.

The building is rectangular, aligned east-west, and accompanied by a leat extending to the south-east. The mill comprises three storeys and an attic. The north-facing front elevation features an entrance with a timber stable door, with one nine-pane casement window to the left and two above it. The eastern gable has a six-pane ground-floor window and a nine-pane window to both the first floor and the attic. A breast-shot water wheel is attached to the south elevation, situated within a stone and concrete-lined wheel pit. Above the wheel is a six-pane ground-floor opening, two nine-pane windows to the first floor, and the remnants of a metal shaft. The west elevation contains a first-floor taking-in opening with a timber stable door and a concrete sill. Above this is a projecting timber hoist loft with a two-pane window and a hoist trapdoor set on timber brackets supported by stone corbels. All openings are topped by brick segmental arches and have quoins and sills.

Internally, the mill machinery is arranged over the three floors, with a main shaft rising through the centre of the building. Fixed timber ladders allow access to each floor. The ground floor is divided by timber partitions, enclosing an iron axle linked to the external water wheel, and including the pit-wheel and spur-wheel. The second floor is open and contains the tun (with millstones), associated hoists and wheels, and a rotating flour bin connected to the chute above. The third floor has been converted into living accommodation and contains what were originally two timber-partitioned storage bays on either side of the main shaft. Above this is a central timber catwalk and partitioned storage areas within the eaves, including a bathroom with a flush lavatory.

The concrete and stone-lined leat, repaired in the late 20th century, runs for approximately 18 metres to the south-east to a weir. It includes a restored sluice gate and a 10-metre section of stone-lined overflow.