Abbey Mill

Abbey Mill is a watermill that has been converted into stores and workshops. It dates from the mid-12th century, with remodels in the late 12th century and early 13th century, and has undergone alterations after 1539 and in the 19th century. The building is constructed of gritstone and features a stone slate roof. It has three storeys and five bays, with a two-storey, two-bay addition to the north.

On the east side, there is a 12th-century round-arched doorway on the first floor to the left, with later arched openings on the ground floor. The first and second floors have paired lancet windows, and there are four stepped buttresses. A corniced ridge stack is located to the right of the second bay. The rear (west side) has two upper storeys above ground level, with a round chamfered arched doorway on the far right and windows similar to those on the east side. There is a brick wheelhouse attached to bay four, which contains intact 19th-century machinery. A wooden cover and sluice gate are found in bay two.

On the left return, external steps lead to a narrow chamfered round-arched doorway on the first floor, with a paired window to the right. The ground floor has two square-headed windows and one in the gable. The right return features a square-headed doorway in the centre and a blocked entrance on the first floor. Inside, there are 19th- and 20th-century floorings.

The mill was supplied by a leat from the River Skell, which widened into a mill pond with a dam against the west wall of the building. Two waterwheels were used to operate two cornmills and later other processes. The north end, which likely housed the waterwheels, was demolished after the dissolution of Fountains Abbey in 1539 and was replaced by the lower-roofed block. The mill remained in operation until the early 20th century. Abbey Mill is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.