Abbey Mill
(In the Appreciation as "Abbey Malthouse")
(Grade II listed in 1956 as "shed and walling to east", and now Grade I listed "with attached walling")
(Grade II listed in 1956 as "shed and walling to east", and now Grade I listed "with attached walling")
Despite the official descriptions, this is neither a shed, nor a malthouse ~ it is in fact a watermill, as evidenced by the circular scoring marks on its inner wall from the mill-wheels. The confusing name may have been attached to this building from the Estate's 1650 survey, which includes a "Great Malting House" without identifying its location. On the other hand, it might have served several purposes at different periods in its history. Either way, it is one of the best-kept secrets of Abbotsbury.
In 1662, Sir John Strangways (restored to his estates after the Civil War) granted a lease for a site "called or known by the name of the Abbey Mill", and it was still in action as a mill in 1740, and appears on the Donne map of 1758. It is not mentioned in the 1774 edition of Hutchings' history of Dorset, although, curiously, the picture (right) appears in the 1867 edition of the same book.
By 1801 the mill stream had been blocked, and by 1899 the building had been divided into two parts. Roger Ross Turner did some detailed research on the building while he lived at nearby Abbey House.
The walls on the right of the engraving above need to be considered as part of the Mill ~ the pictures below show the east window of the Mill itself (left) and the interior walls (right) of the building that faces on to the overflow car park for the village, but are hardly noticed by the passing visitor. The whole building presents some of the greatest challenges to conservation in the Abbey precinct alongside, perhaps, a great opportunity to open out and explain its original purpose.
