The Town Mill, Colyton, Devon - Feb 09

[Foxylady]

I came across this totally by accident when I went over to Colyton specifically to take photos of lamp posts and the church. I haven't been able to glean much history of it at all, but one source states that the town had two mills; a corn mill and a saw mill. Colyton itself developed from an ancient village around 700AD and eventually came to be known as 'the most rebellious town in Devon' because the townsfolk joined the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. You only have to wander around the town to see that most of the buildings stem from well before then, including the original part of the mill.

I would guess that this was the corn mill because it has a mill race running alongside and may well have had a waterwheel at one time...so that's where we'll start.

This is where the mill race joins the River Coly.

Looking the other way towards the mill itself.

At this end are the later, additional buildings. No access inside, unfortunately, but there are some very old and lovely outside details on the original and oldest part of the mill. Saving the best til last.

I managed to get a couple of pics of the inner yard by sticking the camera lens through the sides of the metal gate.

Now working my way up past the newer buildings to the original one.

Ancient double glazing?

And one of the best bits, imo, is this wonderful door. No idea of it's age, but I suspect it's original and likely to be very old.

Hope you enjoyed! Cheers

 

[Neosea]

Love the door. It looks almost to good for a mill. Cool find, thanks Foxy

 

[Foxylady]

Cheers, Neo. That door is rather special, isn't it. When I was researching the mill, apparently there's planning permission to demolish the newer buildings and to turn the original part into 3 luxury apartments. I just hope they keep that door!

 

[tonyque2]

It's in a nice position but not sure I would pay the asking price - even for the door !!!

http://www.martindiplock.co.uk/propertyDetails.php?pid=104771

 

[Foxylady]

It's in a nice position but not sure I would pay the asking price - even for the door !!!

Yes, I noticed that. I'm not sure property developers would bother with it either, in this current climate!

 

[King Al]

Cool find Foxy, Like the end of the wood beam in the wall Pic 10 and the door is great needs a splash of varnish and it'll be good for 100 years

 

[infromthestorm]

Nice one Foxy,have to agree regards the door,i wonder if there are more original features inside ? be nice to see

 

[Foxylady]

Thanks Al and Storm. Not a huge amount to see but I did enjoy taking pics of those interesting details. Tis a nice building too. I did manage to get close enough to the broken glass (just about avoiding cutting myself...Lol) and had a look inside. I couldn't see much but the walls that I could were all in the original bare stone, which was nice. I'll be going back over a couple of times or more, as there's loads of buildings I want to photograph in the town, so I'll keep an eye on the mill.
Eeeeh! I just had a thought...I actually used to know the estate agent who's dealing with it...now there's a thought!

 

[smileysal]

Excellent pic my friend, love that door, that's great. Definitely hassle your estate agent friend and see if you can have a look around the inside. Looking forward to seeing more pics from here.

Cheers mate,

Sal

 

[Foxylady]

Thanks Sal. I haven't seen the estate agent for a good many years...it's one of those daft things that go 'friend of a friend of a neighbour's sister's boyfriend'. Lol. He probably wouldn't remember me, but I could always go into the office on spec and ask. Wouldn't hurt!

 

[V70]

Ahh, nice find Foxylady ! I wonder how long its been for sale, the board looks quite weathered?

 

[Foxylady]

Thanks, V70. Yes, I wondered that. It looks as if the agency just stuck it there and has conveniently forgotten about it because they're thinking 'no chance!'.

 

[TK421]

Nice report Foxylady, they certainly don't mean you to get in there do they!! Excellent door, looks in really good nick too.

 

[Lightbuoy]

A lovely jubbly set of old buildings Foxy. Sometimes the best finds are the un-expected ones

Nice old door. Wondering if it was originally from somewhere else? Might not be, just looks more suited to a more domesticy type building.

Ta for posting these,

 

[Foxylady]

Cheers TK and Lb. The thing I noticed when wandering around the town is how old all the buildings are and such wonderful decoration everywhere. Even the chip shop has gorgeous carved stone arches with flowers for corbels and old wall lamps flanking the door! So, the door sort of doesn't surprise me...although none the less unusual and delightful for that.

 

[kittykat]

*smiles* You are so gifted...I love your work! These are stunning!

 

[Foxylady]

Cheers, Kat.
I used a different film than usual and they came out quite blue and pastel-like. I wasn't sure about them at first, but with a bit of post-production, they grew on me.

 

[evilbill-agqx]

Lovely pics Especially that door, it looks almost Tudor-era doesn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if it was Elizabethan or something. Has the right sort of design and looks to be the right sort of height too!

They must have been short people, Tudor architects. Hehehe

 

[Foxylady]

Lovely pics Especially that door, it looks almost Tudor-era doesn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if it was Elizabethan or something. Has the right sort of design and looks to be the right sort of height too!

Cheers, evilbill. That's exactly what I thought! I did see on the estate agents website that the building was listed as Victorian, but I reckon it's far older than that...and according to the history, it should be too. Maybe the Victorians added onto it.

They must have been short people, Tudor architects. Hehehe

Short architects for short people!