Lew Corn Mill

Lew Corn Mill

Corn mill, probably early 19th century, with possible medieval origins.

The mill is constructed mainly of stone with cob above and a hipped roof covered in Coryton slate in diminishing courses. All openings have wooden frames and lintels except for the axle hole, which has a granite lintel. The building has an irregular plan with a rectangular granary attached to the east.

The northern elevation includes two doors—one leading into the granary on the left and the other into the mill—along with a pair of windows and two groups of pigeon nesting boxes. The eastern elevation, which faces the public highway, has a doorway and slit window on the ground floor and a large loading door on the first floor. The southern elevation, facing the cart shed, contains a small opening and slit window at ground level and a narrow slit window on the first floor. The western elevation, to which the wheel was attached, has a large number of openings, some of which have been blocked. Of the two ground-floor openings, the southern one carried the wheel's axle into the mill, while the other may mark the position of an earlier axle opening. At first-floor level are two window openings and a door, with a metal rod adjacent to the door that would have connected to the sluice above the overshot water wheel.

The interior is divided into two rooms. The eastern room (granary) is a large space with floor joists indicating the position of the first floor. The roof is supported by a single double braced A-frame truss carrying purlins and three substantial timbers supporting the hip. The western room (mill) retains clear evidence of the original milling process. On the ground floor adjacent to the western wall is a pit wheel with an associated timber axle bearing block fitted with metal fittings. The first floor is supported by a series of substantial beams, some carried on ample posts. Although many floorboards have been removed, the housing for two millstones survives, one of which remains in place, together with access and sack hatches. The remaining millstone is a bedstone, positioned in the north-west corner of the building. The roof timbers contain further evidence of milling, including a hoist and the possible remains of a grain hopper.

The leat carrying water from the River Lew to the mill forms the edge of a late medieval field system, suggesting strongly that it existed when those fields were established. This indicates that Lew Corn Mill is likely built on the site of a medieval mill. However, the existing structure does not have obviously early elements, though traces of an earlier building may have been incorporated into the present structure. The 1886 Ordnance Survey map shows the mill standing at that time alongside a group of other buildings immediately to the north, which have since been destroyed. These northern buildings served as the miller's accommodation. By its materials and construction techniques, the mill clearly predates the 1886 survey. The mill ceased operating in the 20th century, and some machinery was removed to renovate a mill in Okehampton. In recent years the buildings have been used for agricultural storage.