Stockleigh Mill

Stockleigh Mill is a watermill that was last used for fulling. It is first recorded in 1293 and features a structure that is partly from the late medieval period, with remodeling from the 18th century. The building has stone rubble and cob walls topped with a steep hipped, almost pyramidal, wheat-reed thatched roof. It has a square, one-room plan with the wheel position partly enclosed on the north side, likely designed for breast shot. The mill is built into a bank on the east side and has two storeys.

The east front, which is at road level on the first floor, features a doorway on the left with a ledged door and an old oak unglazed window on the right, which has closely spaced mullions. There is a similar window on the south wall at ground floor level and a larger opening above it. The west front has a leat exit on the left with an old unglazed oak window above, set within walling of timber framing with wattle and daub. Timber lacing extends from the first-floor sill level to nearly half the length of the building. To the right of the leat exit, there is a window in rubble walling that was rebuilt in the 18th or 19th century. There is a wide doorway on the ground floor to the right, featuring a pair of old ledged doors and oak lintels. Old oak rafter ends project from the cob under the eaves.

Inside, the mill retains its old wheel shaft and timberwork for holding the millstones, although most machinery has been removed. Heavy chamfered oak beams support the old flooring, with some reused timber from earlier periods. The oak roof is likely from the 18th century but is smoke-blackened, possibly from a forge. A jointed cruck from the 15th or 16th century, which is part of a cruck post and truss blade, survives in the west wall towards the north end. Despite the removal of machinery, Stockleigh Mill remains a very unspoilt example of a small watermill.