Description
The Mill, Millhouse and outbuildings were recorded in detail in 1993 as part of the Verancular Building Survey carried out across Holnicote Estate. The following describes the mill and it's outbuildings:
Two storey single pile house with front stair turret. Rear, two storey wing, the far end of this houses the mill. Wing lower than that of the house, with steeper pitch over mill than over south ( house) end, which has a raked dormer in the west pitch. Single storey rear lean-to enclosing rear lateral stack, porch in angle between lean-to and rear wing. Single ridge roof, with internal axial stack at east gable. West end of roof continuous over cider house which is angled back from front elevation of house. Northwest corner chimney in rear kitchen lean-to, the roof of this springs from under the house eaves, probably when thatched it was catslide. Calf boxes butt onto east gable end. Irregular fenestration. One raked dormer in wing roof east pitch.
The house faces onto a cobbled yard. Mounting block on east end of front.
Roof of triple V tiles with collared ridge tiles, catslide over stair turret. Rear lean-to double roman tiles.The walls are of rubble stone, mainly dark red sandstone with some waterworn green and purple stone, most of the latter in the stair turret and the west end of the front.
The Tudor-headed door frame in hall suggests a 16c/17c house, of which this, the jointed cruck in room N, and possibly the beam and fireplace in the living room, are the surviving remnants. Alternatively the house may have been aligned eastwards from the mill, with living room added as a rear-wing in the later 16c/ early 17c. There is little left to help in interpretation of the late medieval/ Tudor house, only excavation or, possibly, removal of all render and plaster, would give the answer.
Sitting room with its beam and fireplace either added as a wing, or built as part of a south facing house in the 16c/17c. During the 18c the east end of the house was rebuilt giving present sitting room and bedroom above. The 19c saw various rebuilds of portions of house and wing walls. In the late 19c/ early 20c the thatch was removed and the roof tiled. In a good state of repair.
Outbuildings:
The Mill, disused as mill but opened to the public by the National Trust ( in hand): Single cell two storey east-facing, with the rear wing of the farmhouse continuing to the south, ridge of roof continuous but eaves of wing higher than those of mill. Overshot wheel on north gable, with launder and leat coming in from west, mill pond on northeast corner. Double roman tiles on east pitch, triple-V on west, with collared ridge tiles. A great deal of ivy on the east wall obscures the stone, the visible part is roughly squared rubble stone, some large blocks in jambs and quoins, wing wall much more rubbly and random, probably rebuilt. Larger rubble in north wall, with weatherboarding above windowsill level. West wall smaller rubble stone, randomly laid, with a rebuild in red sandstone above ground floor sill level in the southern half. Wood lintels.
Two sets of millstones were turned by the overshot wheel, all wheels transferring the drive are bevelled toothed metal except the two connecting with the drive to the stones, which have wood teeth set through a metal wheel. A separate drive is taken from the main shaft and extends to a gearing in a small shed in the back yard, supported on two stone piers, all these covered in ivy and other growth. This long drive was used to run the apple crusher in the cider barn. The drive into the cider shed has been removed.
Two shutes from the millstones fed the flour into the large wooden bin set alongside the machinery on the ground floor. Flaps in the loft floor enabled sacks of corn to be lifted up to the wheels, and the latter were lifted by swivel hoists set into a plank on the loft floor. Both cases for the millstones survive, but only one pair of stones are in situ. One odd stone rests against the north wall in the loft.
The machinery is enclosed by a wooden and wire netting partition, with a glass panel replacing three planks so the mechanism can be seen. Although the wheel can be turned, it cannot be coupled up to the machinery. This mill is a remarkable survival, and it should be made to work.
The leat is taken off from River Aller, runs along and approaches the mill on a raised stone bank which bends and runs to the northwest corner of the mill. This part is lined with mortar. The overflow is on the north side, just before the metal launder takes the water. A shutter releases the water as needed onto the overshot wheel.
Built or rebuilt in the 16c/17c as a grist mill, probably on a much older site. In the Domesday entry for Allerford a mill is mentioned 'which pays 15d', it is just possible this is the mill site as the water comes from the River Aller. ( Domesday Book, Somerset, ed: John Morris). It is not clear whether the 16c/17c house ran north-south, as the mill and wing now do, or east-west as the present farmhouse does.The house and wing, and parts of the mill, were rebuilt during the late 18c/ early 19c. The mill machinery was renewed in the late 19c, probably from all wood to nearly all metal. In a fair state of repair, the roof and ivy need attention.
Motor Shed, now disused: Small shed built to house the gearing which took the drive from the mill to the apple crusher in the cider house. Roof of corrugated iron over weatherboarded walls.
Calf Boxes, now garden store/ woodshed: Singe storey gable-ended range of three stock boxes, butting onto north end of house and angled back from it. Triple V tile roof, with collared ridge tiles, as house. The walls at south end mainly red sandstone, north end ( added 3rd cell) waterworn pebbles, with squared red sandstone in the quoins, walls much patched and irregular in places. Jambs of smaller stone, lower parts disturbed. Probably the building shown on the 1889 OS Somerset sheet XXXIV.6 map. It may also be shown on the 1876 Holnicote Estate map and the 1841 Selworthy Tithe map. 19c.
Cider House, now store: Two cell one-and-a-half storey building, butting onto south end of house and angled back from it. Roof of roman tiles with plain ridge. The lower part of the walls are mainly purple and grey/ green sandstone, waterworn, with similar larger squared stones in jambs. West wall all quarried stone, not waterworn. This building seems to have been partially rebuilt on the front ( south) elevation. On 1809-12 Holnicote Estate Survey and all later maps. The red sandstone rebuild may go with the rebuild of the house, or alterations to it. The history of development of the house is not very clear, and the cider house is related to this, the lack of a full-height dividing wall between the two buildings demonstrates this.
Lean-to on Cider House, now porch: Lean-to with front supported by three posts, front and west end open. Probably added late in the 19th century to the north side of Cider House
Stable, now disused: Single storey, two cell, with spine wall under ridge,gable-ended, east facing, freestanding between Cart Linhay and Cider House, with steps on the north side up to the leat. Roman tile roof with matching ridge. Front wall gabled, rubble stone with brick jambs, spaces above doors weatherboarded. Small area of cob between south door and centre of front. rear wall built into bank, rubble stone with cob above on south side.Northern part recessed, narrower, all rubble stone with brick jambs for pitching door. Side walls river stone and red sandstone. A building is shown in this position on the 1809-12 Holnicote Estate Survey, but is not shown on the 1841 Selworthy Tithe map. The cob of the southern part suggests a 18c date as the tenth baronet built in stone. It may be that as a small unit or a remnant of a building it was not shown on the Tithe map, and therefore not on the 1876 Holnicote Estate map. 18c/ early 19c.
The range of outbuildings which form a linear arrangment to the south of the Mill and Mill house are the Cart Linhay, now garage and sunhouse; Bank Barn, now education centre ( in hand); Shippon, now entrance/ kitchen/ cloakrooms ( in hand) and Pigsties, now wood store ( in hand), (recorded as Buildings 6-9). The are Grade II Listed and recorded seperately as a group of buildings as MNA181993 . [1]
The Mill was recorded as part of the Holnicote Estate Survey in 2001 and is described as: 'mill and mill house, the mill now part of the rear wing of the house, of jointed cruck construction and probably dating to the 16c when an Edward Pyle is recorded. The mill is two storey, with 19c machinery, there were two sets of stones, one pair are still in place. The wheel is overshot, on the gable end, the mill leat (115651) is taken from the River Aller east of the Paddocks, it went out of use in the mid 20c. The mill is permanently open to the publicThe mill house is two room and cross-passage, with beam and fireplace lintel in the west room late 16c/early 17c in date, suggesting it is contemporary with the mill itself. The main part of the house roof has been re-timbered, the likelihood is that it was originally of jointed cruck construction. There is a front stair turret. The roof is tiled (from c.1900) and the walls are rubble stone. The farm outbuildings include a cider house and a bank barn, the latter is now used as an education centre'. [2]