Bidlake Mill

Bidlake Mill is a 17th-century watermill located in Bridestowe. Constructed of slate rubble with a scantle slate roof gabled to the right end and half-hipped to the left, it has a chimney made of four upright slates. The mill follows a rectangular plan, with one room on each floor including an overshot water wheel against the rear wall. Water is delivered to the wheel via wooden launders. The front elevation is asymmetrical, incorporating a wide doorway on the left and a small window to its right. A doorway on the right-hand side leads to a first-floor room, built into the hillside. Internally, some original roof trusses remain, with lapped and pegged collars and mortices for threaded purlins, though these have been considerably repaired. The mill machinery appears to survive intact. Originally used for grinding corn until the 1930s, the water wheel was subsequently geared for carpentry machinery and remained in use until 1956.