Beaford Mill And Adjoining Leat Retaining Walls And Bridge

The building is a mill, dated 1867 and enlarged in the 19th century. It is constructed of snecked squared stone with dressed quoins and voussoirs, and has a gable-ended Welsh-slate roof. The mill is aligned approximately north-west/south-east, with a southeast block dated 1867 and a northeast extension added in the later 19th century. It was formerly equipped with an undershot external waterwheel on the southwest side of the 1867 block, although the waterwheel and its roof have since been removed. Adjoining the southwest side are leat retaining walls and a small bridge. The mill has two storeys and a loft, with a one-storey and loft addition.

The southwest side, facing the leat, is largely windowless, except for a central first-floor three-light window (with a blocked window below) and a first-floor doorway to its left. The right-hand gable end features a small one-light attic window, a first-floor two-light wooden casement, and a ground-floor two-light opening. A datestone is located below the attic window. The left-hand gable end has a two-light wooden casement to the loft and a ground-floor pair of large boarded double doors, topped with a wooden lintel and a segmental-pointed stone relieving arch. At the rear of the right-hand block is a louvred attic window, a first-floor boarded door within a wooden frame (accessed by external brick steps), and a boarded ground-floor door below the steps.

The leat retaining walls are constructed of squared and coursed stone. The small bridge over the leat has dressed voussoirs and cobbled decking. The interior of the mill includes two pairs of boxed millstones on the first floor of the right-hand block, with an old hoist for lifting the stones. There are also various grain shutes and trap doors. A complete wooden sack hoist is located in the attic, formerly powered by a take-off from the main drive, and incorporates a wooden pulley wheel and a wooden drum with chain. The 1867 block has a three-bay roof with bolted collar trusses and pairs of purlins, while the later 19th-century extension has a four-bay roof with collar trusses. An old hoist is also present in the later extension. The mill and adjoining leat walls form part of a larger mill complex that includes Beaford Mill House.