1-8 Staverton Mill

Former water mill, now dwellings. Built alongside the River Dart around 1790, heightened to one storey and extended by 1887, converted into offices in the 1930s, and into eight flats in the early 21st century.

The former mill is constructed in stone rubble with a pitched slate roof and gabled ends. The building is tall, standing three storeys with an attic in its late 19th-century form. It is rectangular in plan, with the original mill comprising a two-window range at its south-west end. A small single storey wing is attached to the northern end of the north-west elevation. A former late 19th-century stable block is attached at right angles to the south-west end of the main building, also rectangular in plan and two storeys high.

The original mill's two-window range was extended by five bays to the north-east in the late 19th century. Window openings throughout feature segmental stone arches and contain 20th-century casement windows with glazing bars. The central bay of the late 19th-century extension, facing the River Dart to the south-east, has a doorway to each floor, now partly blocked to form windows slightly wider than the others. A wrought iron weather vane stands over the south-west gable. Four 20th-century flat-roofed dormers are present on the south-east elevation. The stable range, much altered, presents a five-window elevation facing the road.

The interior was not inspected, though photographic evidence from 2010 indicates the survival of internal stone walls, ceiling beams and parts of the roof structure.

Staverton Mill was constructed around 1790 as a water-driven corn mill on the north bank of the River Dart. By 1887 it had been extended further to the north-east, as shown on the Ordnance Survey map of that year. The 1905 Ordnance Survey map labels it as "Flour Mills". In the 1930s the mill was converted into the headquarters of Staverton Builders Ltd, a contracting firm established in 1929 by Leonard Elmhirst, owner of the nearby Dartington Hall Estate. Its first managing director was AE Malbon, former general manager to Welwyn Garden City, who served until 1957. Staverton Builders Ltd was the contractor for most buildings at the Dartington Estate and became one of the largest building contractors in the South West, renowned for introducing modernist architecture to the region. The company was sold by the Dartington Estate in 1976. Staverton Mill subsequently stood empty for decades before its conversion into eight flats in the early 21st century.

The building forms an interesting and important group with Staverton Bridge, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and listed at Grade I.