Listed Building record MDR10909 - Mill Farm, Milton, Repton

The Farmhouse is of four bays aligned north-south, with its front facing west. The two southern bays and the staircase are of a single build, dating probably from around 1790, and appear to be the work of the Harpur Estate based at Calke Abbey. The service accommodation for this building was presumably contained within the northern two bays, and was replaced in the early 19th century by the kitchen and scullery that exist today. The northern end wall of the house is built off a plinth of roughly coursed stones which no doubt predates the brickwork above it. This, and the existence of a few pieces of re-used timber in the main block, suggest that there may have been a half-timbered building on this site before the present house. The Mill adjoins the east side of the farmhouse, and is in two sections. The northern part has a roof aligned east-west, and the position occupied by the wheel can be seen outside the northern wall. The southern part of the mill has a roof aligned north-south, joined by valleys to the roof of the northern end. There is no longer any structural division between the two parts of the building internally, and perhaps there never was, but the two parts are clearly of different dates, the northern one being the older. A timber wheel high in the apex of the roof, with some associated timberwork, seems to be all that is left of the internal workings. Externally, the position of the filled-in wheel pit is clearly visible, as is the position of the sluice that fed the water to it from the mill pond, which is now dry and partially filled in. The mill wheel was clearly either breast-shot or overshot. It seems to have been housed under a roof which has now gone, and various rooflines and former openings show that there were other structures built in the corner between the house and the mill wheel. The mill is built hard against the mill dam, which runs both southwards and eastwards from the mill. It is suggested that the mill may have been a timber-framed building when first built. The Outbuildings look to be late 19th or 20th century, but the remains of stone rubble walling suggest that there was an earlier building on the same footprint. It is suggested that the southernmost part may have once housed a smithy. (1)