Mill Building At Sowton Mill

The Mill Building at Sowton Mill is a structure with probable origins in the 17th century, although it has undergone alterations in the 20th century. It is constructed from granite and freestone rubble, with squared granite brought to course behind the water wheel. The building features a gabled asbestos slate roof at both ends, and a projecting granite stack with set-offs at the right end. The mill building has three storeys and includes accommodation at the right end. Internally, it has been altered in the late 20th century, and while the water wheel is no longer operational, the leat remains in use, powering a water turbine for domestic electricity.

The west elevation, which faces the leat, is asymmetrical and showcases granite quoins along with a mix of 20th-century windows on the right and a flat-roofed dormer on the left. The entrance is located on the left gable end, featuring a doorway with chamfered jambs and a timber lintel. An iron wheel, currently in poor condition, is situated at the left end. In front of the wheel, the leat is divided into three separate channels by dressed granite walls. There is also a second opening in the wall of the mill building downstream from the existing wheel, indicating the former position of another wheel.

Inside, the gable end fireplace has a brick lintel. Despite the late 20th-century window changes, the masonry suggests an earlier construction date. The building is part of a group with the mill house located to the northwest. A granite stone, part of the leat arrangement, bears a datestone that may read 165- (with the last figure being illegible). Historically, Sowton Mill was known as 'Chaffe's Mill'. An indenture from October 16, 1388, granted Nicholas Sparke of Dunsford the right to construct a weir for directing water to a mill to be built by him, as authorized by Richard Champernowne of Modbury. Records from the Committee of the Devonshire Association, specifically the 9th Report from the Halliwell-Phillips Collection, provide further historical context.