Ford Flour Mill And Mill House, With Front Boundary Railings

This is a former watermill and mill house dating to the late 18th century, situated in East Coker. The building is constructed of ham stone rubble with ashlar dressings, featuring Welsh slates over a stone slate base course. The gables are coped, with a reconstructed stone chimney stack on the ridge. The south front has three storeys and six bays. Bays 1 and 2 contain casement windows; a lower window in bay 1 has a timber shutter and appears to be of the 18th century, and to its left is a semi-circular arched recess for a water wheel. Bay 3 has a stable door below and a plain door above. Bays 4, 5, and 6 form the mill house, with casement windows on three levels. The entrance door is in a plain opening to bay 5. Ashlar flush bands mark the floor levels, and iron stay brackets are visible on bays 4 and 5. There is a lean-to addition at the rear. The interior was not inspected. The mill originally incorporated a bakery, with ovens now removed. It closed in 1940. The overshot wood water wheel and most of the machinery are reportedly still in place; the stream is now culverted. Wrought iron spear-headed railings, approximately one metre south of the building, along with a matching gate, likely date from the early 19th century and contribute to the building's setting. The mill was part of a chain including mills at West Coker, Holywell, Pavyotts, and Turners Mill at Barwick, before the stream joins the River Yeo.