A History of Lapford Mill by James Tickner
This article was written in 1992 by the, then, Mill owner based on information gathered over six years from Exeter Archives Library and the West Country Studies Archives. Amongst documents reviewed were the Domesday Records, and the Kelly‘s, Billing’s, White’s, and Harrod’s Directories. Additional information was found in the Census Records 1841-1881 (later census records were not available but for completeness they have been addedto the original article).
The Domesday Records show that the miller at Lapford had to pay to the King a tax of “two Shillings & three pence per year for use of the water of the leat”. This is the earliest record I have found, but does establish that a watermill already existed on this site before the Norman Invasion of 1066 AD. This, and subsequent records refer to ’the miller’ and not specifically to ‘Lapford Mill‘. It is presumed that the recording officials were probably more concerned with listing those people whose occupations gave them an income which could be taxed!
However, by 1988, the South West Water Authority had raised this charge to £15.00 per year. Legally, a Licence to Abstract Water is not now a requirement if the Mill is only used for personal domestic purposes and not for commercial use. However, if a licence is not obtained, then other people, upstream, can obtain a licence to abstract water without consultation, perhaps thus leaving insufficient water flow for operating the Mill. Maintaining a current licence does ensure that objections can be lodged before this could be done. When the National Rivers Authority was formed, it abolished these charges, but still keeps the licence valid.
The small River Dalch joins the larger River YeoEO about half-a-mile upstream from Lapford Mill. At their confluence is a weir, forming a pool. At the western end of the weir is a sluice gate feeding water into a leat which traverses approximately half-a-mile through four fields to reach the Mill. Currently (1991) these are owned by three different farmers on the northern bank, and by the mill-owner and the railway on the southern bank. The miller has legal right of access along the leat banks to keep the channel clear and effect maintenance works.
The river descends more rapidly than the leat, which thus delivers water to the millwheel about 15 feet above river level. Adjacent to the Mill is a by-pass channel controlled by a sluice-gate so that the water can either be returned direct to the river or fed to the millwheel. Both the by-pass channel and the tail race from the wheel now pass under the road through two parallel tunnels. When the railway was constructed, they had to build an embankment to lift the road over the railway and river bridges and also over the Mill waterways. The railway company are thus still responsible for the maintenance of these two tunnels.
Part of the leat was straightened when the railway was built in 1847 [website editor’s note: the building of the line started in 1851 and was opened in 1854 so the leat straightening may have occurred later than 1847]. In times of flood the railway constrains the escape of the water over the natural flood plain, so that part of it is diverted along the leat. This excess causes occasional flooding of the Mill field and also prevents the millwheel from turning because the high water level semi-submerges the wheel.
However, to return to the Mill and its history: It appears that the present Mill House was built of cob circa 1433/4, since several sources record that a family named Gater occupied the house from 1434 until 1820. This is almost 455 years of one family, and probably equates to six or seven successive generations! Because of the land attached, they were probably small farmers as well as millers.
This dating is confirmed by an examination of the house in January 1992 by two local historians. They estimated the house was constructed between 1400 and 1450. A.D. This they deduced mainly from the manner in which the existing original roof timbers were constructed. The top longitudinal members were threaded through the ‘A’ Frames, and the rafters for the thatch were laid loose over the purlins but held together by wooden pegs. All the roof-timbers were smoke—blackened, indicating that the building was originally just one large open room, with no upper floor, the fire being situated in the middle of the floor with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. Earlier incumbents probably, had a much more crude dwelling.
A panelled oak screen well now separates the sitting room from the present dining-room. One panel bears the initials of the carpenter and the date 1547. It is thought probable that this was when the upper floor was created. The chimney and bread oven, with the large ingle-nook fireplace were probably also added at that time.
Part II – 1820-1878
In 1820, following the Gater family, the property was acquired by a Mr Croote, in association with a Mr Densham, both of whom were described as ”Gentleman & Landowner”. Shortly thereafter Mr Croote emigrated to South Africa, and the property was presumably rented out to tenants.
I have not been able to definitely establish the name of the tenant during the following 20 years, but it was probably a Mr. George Challice, based on the 1841census records.
1841 Census
George Challice (55), miller
Ann (50), his wife
Elizabeth (20), daughter
George (13), son
John (10), son
Ann (9), daughter
Ten years later the 1851 Census shows a change:
1851 Census
Peter Tarr, miller and sub-post master
Dinah, his wife
William, son
Peter, son
Note that the miller is now also the postal official. The railway was not yet in existence, and the incoming mail had to be collected by him from Morchard Bishop. This was a 7 miles round-trip twice each day, either on foot or more probably on horse-back.
Billing’s Directory shows them still there in 1857, but three years later, the Census of 1861 shows a further change.
1861 Census
William Isaacs, miller and sub-postmaster
Elizabeth, his wife
Post now arrives at 7.20am and dispatch is at 6pm.
No children are listed, so possibly they were newly wed.
However, despite their early rising, they seem to have been very busy because ten years later the next census in 1871 shows they have four children!
1871 Census
William (8)
Samson (7)
Mary (4)
Albert (2)
White’s Directory show them still there in 1878, when the population of Lapford totalled 683 persons, 345 males and 338 females. There were 138 houses listed then. The strain of the early rising, etc., seems also to have made its mark, for the Post now arrived at 9am. With dispatch at 6 pm!
Part III – the Stoneman family (1879-1985)
Harrods’s Directory of 1878/9, shows a change as the occupier. This is confirmed by the 1881 Census, which shows:
1881 Census
Mr William STONEMAN Miller/sub-postmaster
Elizabeth his wife
Faith daughter
Lucy daughter
Richard son
Ada daughter
Members of the Stoneman family were to be occupants of the Mill for the next 106 years, (1879-1985), the longest since the Gaters (1434 to 1820). However, fickle fortune was not always kind. Six years after taking over the Mill, disaster struck the Stoneman family. A trade newspaper records the event in the following article:
DESTRUCTION OF A FLOUR MILL AT LAPFORD, DEVON.
Early in the morning of Friday, Sept 16th last, a fire broke out at Lapford Mill, Lapford, and resulted in the entire destruction of the structure and all it contained. The Mill was worked by Mr· William Stoneman, who lived in a house situated about eight yards from the Mill. At about a quarter past three o’clock on the morning of Friday, Mr Stoneman’s son was awakened by a noise which he took to be caused by a heavy storm. As he looked out of his window he perceived that the Mill was on fire, and that the sounds he had heard arose from the progress of the flames. He lost no time in alarming the other inmates of the house, but it was soon plain that the fire had got too strong a hold to allow of the Mill being saved, and it was not very long before that building, which was two storied and of some age, was completely consumed with all the machinery and grain it held. For some time the Miller’s house was considered in great danger, but fortunately there was no wind at the time, and it was found possible to keep the dwelling house from taking fire. No clear idea can be obtained as to what caused the disaster, but Mr. Stoneman jun., affirmed that he had been the last person to leave the Mill on the previous night, and that he then left everything in good order. The Mill was insured in the Lancashire office, but the plant and other accessories were not covered, and thus Mr. Stoneman’s loss is estimated at £80 to £90.
From the above, it is seen that the Mill building was only of two stories, and it is thought that it was probably built of cob on a stone base, with a thatched roof, which would explain its complete destruction. Shortly thereafter, the present Mill was constructed, together with an adjacent stable-block. These were both built of stone, the Mill having brick quoins and cavity walls filled with rubble. It has three floors, and a gallery in the roof having a lucam in the western gable-end. The stable-block was of two stories only and appears to have had two stables and a tack-room on the ground floor, with storage rooms above. Both new buildings had slated roofs. The stable-block was subsequently joined to the end of the house by an open cart shed.
At this time the Mill House still had a thatched roof, but c.1948 a fire damaged the thatch, which was then removed. New, modern-style roof trusses with a tiled roof, were installed about two feet above the old medieval timbers, which were unaffected and are still in situ.
Although the Stoneman family remained as tenants, no formal deeds to the property seem to have existed prior to 1910. The first legal document in the present deeds is an indenture dated 25th July 1910, showing the owners to be George Henry Croote the elder and George Henry Croote, the younger, of Johannesburg (see “The Golden Road to Lapford, Soweto). It shows that they repaid a mortgage of £500 to Henry William Gould on 5th November 1909, and then records the sale of the property to William Stoneman for the sum of £702-10s-0d. In 1910 this was a large sum of money.
William Stoneman, senior, died on 27th May 1916, aged 72, but his son, William Albert Burrow Stoneman, with his wife Violet Frederika Lucy , continued to run the Mill and Post Office. The Mill ceased commercial operation in 1942.
It seems that they had two sons, Dennis and Frank. Dennis became a civil engineer and lived in Newbury, Berkshire, with Paulina, his wife, but Frank and his wife Sheila continued to live at the Mill House and run the Post Office.
When William Albert Burrow Stoneman died on 5th December 1969, his Will caused ownership of the property to pass to Dennis on 4th October 1971. Frank and Sheila then moved with the Post office to Hill Villa in the centre of the village and Dennis and Paulina had extensive renovation works done to the Mill House before moving in.
The original front door was on the south side of the house, and opened through a vestibule directly into the main room. These were removed, and built up to became a window. The stairs also rose from the main room to a landing above. No bathroom existed in the house, so the stairs were removed and the landing became a bath-room. An external passageway was excavated along the north side of the house, and a new front entrance hallway was built there-on, with a cloakroom and a new staircase. A doorway had to be cut through the 30 inch original Cob wall to give access from the new hall to the main sitting room. Similarly, another doorway had to be cut on the upper floor to provide an entrance from the new stairs.
At the northern end of the house the old cart shed was removed and a modern kitchen was added in its place, with another bathroom above it. This entailed cutting two more doorways through the original end wall of the house. External to the new kitchen, a toilet and a boiler house were added, with central heating throughout the house. The old lath & plaster ceilings downstairs were removed, exposing the old beams which became an attractive feature. Upstairs, the rough lath & plaster partition walls between rooms were removed and replaced with modern stud/plasterboard, as also were the ceilings, except for one small bedroom, which still has the original lath & plaster ceiling.
In addition, the stable block was converted into a garage and accommodation. The two stables became a large garage, and the tack-room became a kitchen. The walls, which were rough stone, were lined with soft fibre-board on battens, and central heating was installed, fed from the main house system. When the work was completed, Dennis and Paulina Stoneman moved in. Dennis died in September 1981, and Paulina subsequently found it impossible to manage the upkeep of the land and property. This was put up for sale in 1982.
Website editor note:
The following census records for Lapford Mill were not released at the time this mill history was written and are added here for completeness.
1891 Census
William Stoneman (47) miller/sub-postmaster
Eliza (43), his wife
Lucy (22), daughter, assistant
Richard (20), son, miller
James (18), son, miller
Ada (12), daughter
Albert (7), son
1901 Census
William Stoneman (57), miller
Eliza (53), his wife
Lucy (32), daughter
James (28), son, miller
Ada (22), daughter, board school teacher
Albert (17), son, postman
1911 Census
William Stoneman (67), sub-postmaster
Eliza (63), his wife, assistant
Lucy (42), daughter, post-office clerk
Albert (27), miller
1939 Census
Albert Stoneman (55), miller
Violet (54), his wife
Frank (18), son
Lucy (70), aunt, sub-postmistress
Part IV – Recent changes (1985-1992)
It was not until June 1985 that the Mill was sold, to James and Monica Tickner. The stable block had become somewhat dilapidated and in need of urgent renovation. The upper-floor joists and floor were unsafe. The stairs in the old tack-room did cross the window, so these were re-positioned on the opposite wall when new joists and floors were installed. A bathroom and separate toilet were constructed between the sitting room and the bedroom, and all the walls were then plastered. This refurbishment restored it as a light and airy cottage.
Currently, all the buildings are in good repair, the adjoining three and a half acres of land are good grass used by a local farmer for grazing sheep.
In summer good crops of hay are obtained, with two cuttings sometimes possible. The leat has recently been cleaned out and the banks built-up where required. The Mill is still in good order, and refurbishment of the interior machinery continues.
The timber & buckets of the external water wheel had not been kept wetted after commercial operation ceased in 1942. Consequently, they had dried out and had rotted. The water wheel currently awaits rebuilding. Once this is done the Mill should be restored to an operational condition.
James L. Tickner, Lapford Mill, 1992
1910 description and valuation, Board of Inland Revenue: Valuation Office: Field Book
Cob, plaster and thatch house containing: Good repair The property was valued at £706 based on: Lapford Mill at Labour-In-Vain, a Grist Mill, was one of many such mills in the countryside. There were indeed similar grist mills at Bugford and at Nymet Bridge. The milling machinery was driven by water power, the mill wheel being rotated by the flow of water along the mill leat which obtains such water from the weir pool at Bugford. The flow of water to and along the leat is controlled by a number of fenders across the leat channel. Lapford Mill was then a busy one, milling locally, grain, and producing animal feed and also flour for domestic use. The bulk of the grain processed was grown on local farms and after milling, used locally. The mill building is of a much better design and quality than of many village mills, however, the mill wheel and gearing driving the rotating mill stones is of a traditional design. The mill wheel and gearing are largely constructed of wood and I have often assisted my father fit new wooden teeth to the gearing. The part of the mill in which the gearing is housed was to me a little frightening, dark and wet and with the noise of the water rushing by in the mill wheel well. I have often looked on when the mill stones were being “dressed” by re-cutting the grinding grooves to the correct depth, to compensate for wear. A special tool with a hardened steel cutting blade was used to chip away the granite of which the grinding millstones are made. A late-C19 water-powered corn mill and leat system, rebuilt on the site of an earlier mill, closed in 1948 and restored in the late-C20. The Lapford Mill complex stands on the east side of the road leading into Lapford. It has a central cobbled yard surrounded by buildings on three sides, including a mill house, stables, corn mill linked to a mill leat and the remains of an overflow and pond within its grounds. The mill house is the oldest building on this site and is believed to date from the late-C14/ early-C15 when the site was occupied by the Gater family, with whom it remained for almost 400 years. In 1787 sales particulars recorded a seven bedroom house, with a kitchen and two parlours, as well as a cellar, pantry, dairy, stable, walled garden and a grist (corn/flour) mill. The mill complex appears on the Lapford Tithe Map (1842), when it was owned by William Croote. The map shows the mill house with a range of outbuildings joined at a right angle, and a detached mill with an associated leat to the south. On Friday 16 September 1887 a fire completely destroyed the mill, owned at the time by Mr Stoneman who also lived in the mill house. The mill was rebuilt soon after. It has been proposed that the current water wheel predates the mill. The outer rings are marked ‘J Dicker, Millwright, Chaford and W G Bodley Bonhay Exeter and the hubs marked ‘W G Bodley, Bonhay’; the wheel likely dates from existence of the WG Bonhay Foundry, in the mid-C19. The mill stopped working in 1948 when the business was taken over by Copplestone Mill. Part of the building’s third floor has been converted into domestic use. In 1994 the building underwent renovations. The leat and associated sluice gate were also restored in the late C20. In 1995 the water wheel was restored. Following storm damage in 2012 the water-wheel timber bucks and the sluice gate are undergoing repairs in seasonal timber (March 2015). A late-C19 water-powered corn mill and leat system, rebuilt on the site of an earlier mill, closed in 1948 and restored in the late-C20. INTERIOR: the mill machinery is arranged over three floors with the main shaft rising through the centre of the building. Fixed timber ladders lead up to each floor. The ground floor is subdivided by timber partitions that enclose the iron axle that links to the external water-wheel, as well as the pit-wheel and spur-wheel. The second floor is open and includes the tun (containing the millstones), the associated hoists and wheels and a rotating flour bin connected to the chute above. The third floor has been converted to living accommodation and contains two former timber-partitioned storage bays on either side of the main shaft. Above this level is central timber catwalk and partitioned storage areas in the eaves, including a bathroom with a flush lavatory. A circa C15 mill house, with possible C14 origins, part of a corn-mill complex, used as a village post office from the mid-C19 to the late-C20, extended in the second half of the C20. Excluding the attached single-storey glazed timber porch joined at a right-angle to the south side of the main house. The circa C15 Lapford Mill House, with later additions, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: The Lapford Mill complex stands on the east side of the road leading into Lapford. It has a central cobbled yard surrounded by buildings on three sides, including a mill house, stables, corn mill linked to a mill leat, and the remains of an overflow and pond within its grounds. The mill house is the oldest building on this site and is believed to date from the late-C14/early-C15 when the site was occupied by the Gater family, with whom it remained for almost 400 years. The remains of a smoke-blackened roof is likely the result of an open-chamber house exposed to the roof. An oak-panelled screen, circa C15, indicates the date at which an upper floor was created. The inglenook fireplace also dates from this period. In 1787 sales particulars recorded a seven-bedroom house, with a kitchen and two parlours, as well as a cellar, pantry, dairy, stable, walled garden and a grist (corn/flour) mill. The mill complex appears on the Lapford Tithe Map (1842), when it was owned by William Croote. The map shows the mill house with a range of outbuildings joined at a right angle, and a detached mill with an associated leat to the south. On Friday 16 September 1887 a fire completely destroyed the mill, owned at the time by Mr Stoneman who also lived in the mill house. The mill was rebuilt soon after. In the mid-C20 a lean-to was added to the north side of the mill house. A thatched roof survived until a fire in 1948. A new tiled roof encased the earlier timber structure that was retained beneath. Extensive renovation work was carried out in 1971, including the construction of a two storey extension with a modern kitchen and shower room. The mill house was used as a post office from at least the late-C19 until the late-C20. It is now (2015) a residential dwelling. A circa C15 mill house, with possible C14 origins, part of a corn-mill complex, used as a village post office from the mid-C19 to the late-C20, extended in the second half of the C20. Excluding the attached single-storey glazed timber porch joined at a right-angle to the south side of the main house. Lapford Mill Website – self-catering accommodation, occasional arts venue and home to Lapstock Music Festival.
corn floor, milling floor and packing floor
Mill memories, from Memories of Old Lapford, Eric Challice, 1986
National heritage listing for the Mill and Leat, Historic England
Summary
Reasons for Designation
History
Details
MATERIALS: stone with brick dressing to the openings and the quoins, all under a slate roof.
PLAN: a rectangular building on an east-to-west alignment with a leat extending to the south-east.
EXTERIOR: the mill is three storeys with an attic. The front (north) elevation has an entrance with a timber stable door. There is one window to the left and two to the floor above; all are nine-pane casements. The eastern gable-end has a six-pane ground-floor window and a nine-pane window to the first floor and attic. The breast-shot water wheel is attached to the south elevation, and sits in a stone and concrete lined wheel-pit. Above the wheel is a six-pane ground-floor opening, two nine pane windows to the first floor and the remains of a metal shaft. The west elevation includes a first-floor taking-in opening with a timber stable door and concrete cill. Above is a projecting timber hoist loft with a two-pane window and a trapdoor for the hoist in the base, all on timber brackets supported by stone corbels. All of openings in the mill are topped by brick, double-course, segmental arches, and have quoins and cills.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the concrete and stone-lined leat, repaired in the late C20, extends for circa 18m to the south east to a weir, with a restored sluice gate and a 10m section of the stone-lined overflow.
National heritage listing for the Mill House, Historic England
Summary
Reasons for Designation
History
Details
MATERIALS: a jointed-cruck frame with cob walls rendered in modern cement on a stone plinth, rendered brick and stone extensions, and a tile roof.
PLAN: a single-depth rectangular building with a lean-to on the north side, all on an east-to-west alignment.
EXTERIOR: the south elevation has a 12-pane, double-leaf casement window to the left of a lateral chimney. The chimney has an attached cloam oven and a large brick stack rising from the roof. To the right are two curved 24-pane bay windows with two 24-pane dormer windows above. To the right is a 1970s two-storey flat-roof extension, with multi-pane windows on both floors and the modern entrance. The east end has been built into the adjacent bank and has a tall, rendered, end stack. The west elevation has irregular fenestration, with one window to the ground-floor and two first-floor casement windows. The mid-C20 pitched lean-to on the north elevation includes a partially-glazed C20 door and casement windows at either end. Beyond is a single-storey, flat-roofed late-C20 infill extension between the house and the boundary wall.
INTERIOR: the southern entrance opens into the 1970s extension. An opening in the formerly external cob wall leads into the smaller of two rooms that are divided by an oak plank-and-muntin partition on an exposed stone plinth (indicating that the floor level has been lowered). The partition contains a plank door with applied fillets on one side: although the timber appears to be of some antiquity, the door furniture is later and the door may have been reused and inserted at the same time that the floor level was altered. The face of the timber partition looking into the larger of the two rooms (to the west) has been decorated with chamfer-and-stop detailing, denoting its higher status. The smaller room has exposed timber ceiling joists and an arched alcove that may be an in-filled doorway. The larger room also has exposed ceiling timbers, including a central chamfered cross beam and joists. In the middle of the south wall is an inglenook fireplace. It is topped by a large oak bressumer that is supported at one end by a timber corbel and the cob wall at the other. Within the fireplace, to the right, is a cloam oven with a metal door, and, to the left, is a small alcove beneath a conical funnel that corresponds with a basin in the room above. There are in-built cupboards within the south and west walls which may relate to the building’s former use as a post office. A set of steps leads up to the single-storey lean-to, within which are mid-C20 internal timber doors and a staircase with a late-C20 timber stick banister. On the first floor are three bedrooms and a bathroom, and a shower room in the 1970s extension to the east. The central bedroom is above the inglenook. The chimney breast is visible and incorporates a timber ledge with a sunken basin that corresponds with a funnel visible in the fireplace below. Part of a jointed cruck is visible in this room. The west-end bedroom has a blocked window. The 1940s roof structure encases the earlier smoke-blackened jointed-cruck frame roof, including purlins, rafters and a ridge beam. There is also a fragment of lath-and-plaster partition in the attic.
Links
The Gater’s: From Mill to Mansion – how one of Britain’s wealthiest women came to be buried in Lapford
The Golden Road to Lapford, Soweto – how one mill owner squandered his Lapford wealth in the goldfields of the Transvaal