Mill House

Mill House comprises three cottages originally forming a single, substantial house. The core of the building dates to the mid-16th century and was extensively refurbished in the late 19th century, likely when it was divided into the present cottages. The walls are plastered, with incised detailing simulating ashlar, over what is believed to be granite rubble, possibly with some ashlar and possibly cob construction. The stacks are of stone rubble with plastered granite ashlar chimney shafts, and the roof is slate, originally thatched.

The cottages face northeast and are built down a hillslope. The cottage at the uphill right end (No. 1) has a single-room plan with a gable-end stack backing onto the adjacent property, Moorside. Cottage No. 2 actually consists of two cottages: a central single-room plan cottage with an axial stack backing onto No. 1, and a two-room plan cottage on the left end, featuring a central staircase and a large projecting gable-end stack. The late 19th-century renovations and subdivision have largely concealed the original fabric, but the changes are thought to have been superficial.

The original house appears to have been a 3- or 4-room-and-through-passage plan, with the service room at the right end (No. 1). A small, one-room extension at the front left was likely a two-story porch. The hall is now occupied by the central cottage and potentially the adjacent room of the left-hand cottage. The inner room is occupied by the staircase, and the left-end room. The hall was originally open to the roof and may have been heated by an open hearth fire. All three cottages are now two stories high.

The exterior features an irregular 3:1:1 front arrangement with late 19th and 20th-century casement windows, some without glazing bars. All cottages have late 19th-century part-glazed panelled doors. A two-story gabled bay likely represents a former porch; the ground floor is now enclosed, with said to be granite posts marking the forward corners. The main roof is gable-ended.

Internally, the late 19th-century refurbishment is evident, with beams boxed in and fireplaces blocked. The roof is inaccessible. However, above the central cottage (thought to be the original hall), an arch-braced truss is exposed, and others are plastered over elsewhere. It is likely that the 16th-century house, with later 17th-century improvements, survives largely intact behind the late 19th-century plaster. The cottages are considered to occupy a heavily-disguised 16th-century house containing high-quality carpentry. South Zeal is historically significant as one of the few medieval boroughs in Devon to retain a substantial number of early houses.