Stainsby Old Mill, corn grinding mill in working order up to a few years ago. Good example of undershot water wheel and corn grinding machinery. Roof needs repair [in 1973]. The National Trust shelved acquisition in 1972, but acquired the mill and 0.115 acres of land surrounding it in July 1976. (1) Stainsby Mill. Listed Grade II. Two storey former corn mill just west of Stainsby village. An attractive stone building with a stoneslab roof and mullioned window frames. 18th century in date and part of the Hardwick estate. Now owned by the National Trust and open to the public Easter-October. The head race arrangements include two large sluices with cast iron gates in a masonry framework. (2) Probably the best example of a complete working mill driven by a water wheel in the county. There has been a corn mill on the site from at least the 13th century and a mill is shown on William Senior's plan of the area in 1609. It was owned from 1826 until the mid 1960s by the Dukes of Devonshire, who then sold it to the National Trust. For many years the mill was unused except as a store; however it was restored during 1991-1992. The present stone mill building was probably built in around 1850. It stands below the road to Hardwick Hall, the road forming the dam wall, with water passing below to the water wheel and, at one time, to a set of turbines used to pump water to the Hall. The main mill building is in two parts, the main portion adjacent to the road contains the mill machinery with the water wheel in a gabled extension on the south side, whilst to the eastern end is the kiln. The mill is fitted with an iron wheel, 17ft in diameter and 5ft 2ins wide, complete with 42 curved sheet-iron buckets; the wheel drives three pairs of stones. Within the kiln extension, the firebox is at ground floor level, while the grain was spread above on thin perforated cast iron tiles supported on cast iron beams. The mill is open to the public during the summer. (3)