Dowland Mill

Dowland Mill is a house that was likely originally a mill house, dating from the mid-17th century, with an early 20th-century addition. It features plastered cob walls and a gable-ended concrete tile roof, along with an axial brick stack. The layout consists of a three-room baffle entry plan, with a lobby entrance in front of the axial stack that serves the left-hand and central rooms. There is an unheated service room to the right, which has stairs at the rear that may be in their original position. A 20th-century lean-to is located at the right-hand end.

The building is two storeys tall and has an asymmetrical four-window front, with a slight projection to the left of centre for the entrance. On the first floor, there is a 19th-century two-light casement window to the left, an original chamfered two-light mullion window to the left of centre in the projection, an early 20th-century three-light casement to its right, and a 19th-century three-light casement beyond that with two leaded lights. On the ground floor, to the left, is a 20th-century three-light leaded pane casement, followed by later 20th-century three and two-light casements to the right. A rustic timber 20th-century porch is positioned to the left of centre, featuring a 17th-century square-headed chamfered wooden doorframe behind which is a contemporary studded plank door with cover strips and strap hinges.

The rear elevation has a slight projection for the stairs at the left-hand end. To the left of centre on the ground floor is a 17th-century three-light chamfered wooden mullion window, which, according to the owner, has been re-used from the front wall. The remaining windows are late 20th-century one and two-light casements.

Inside, the left-hand room has an open fireplace with a cambered chamfered wooden lintel and stone ashlar jambs that are chamfered on the inside and jowelled at the top, along with a very heavy chamfered ceiling beam. The central room features a fireplace with moulded ashlar jambs and an ovolo-moulded wooden lintel, complemented by closely spaced narrow chamfered ceiling beams. The roof timbers were renewed when the thatch was removed. Overall, this building is a very complete example of a mid-17th-century house, both in its layout and its architectural features.