Just joined due to this property. Will cut&paste this narrative on all 3 of existing posts to aid others. Will be succinct to avoid boring you! A pal aimed to go to the TankFest in Dorset 270615, I was to research a freelance camping pitch, but in being an avid lover of abandoned places (ie, farmsteads, dwellings, lone barns, etc) Googled for hours and among others, found this place by accident. Immediately fascinated. We went there 280615. Parked on road by logs opposite site where v small layby located (see on StreetView). No one has been there recently, as the undergrowth - nettles/brambles in tact, so no access, we had to make own path (quite easy). All other access points to property subsequently in tact, so not recently forayed. Totally amazing settlement. Thought caution initially needed as new aerial on chimney of large house, + 2 sets of elevated cables go to it, but place is as in the images, and abandoned;
No one there, including the tramp. House is inaccessible, well sealed (En building on satellite). What looks like big barn on left is actually the mill -again, no way in. The long structure to the south is a set of 4-5 spacious low ceiling barns/byres(?) with cobbled floors, totally accessible. Above is a loft area accessed via fairly safe wooden staircase at Wn end. As you poke head through entrance, large pile of hay at that end, and good, fully wooden floor boarding, but didn't go up. Byres below fairly free of anything - some industrial and domestic bits, and in barn 3 or 4, big pile of scattered food cartons, etc, and notably, recent Tesco poly bags. NB. All barn entrances had waist-high nettles so no one been there in past few years. Courtyard between these buildings is uncluttered and almost looks husbanded in parts, but a few items hint at recent activity, like a length of yellow strimmer line (by lean-to garage abutting house).
This is a magnificent gem of beauty - beautiful in its lostness and isolation, and yet terribly sad in being left to rot. I read here that restoration was planned, but doubt it'll happen as the outlay would be phenomenal. Aside of the infrastructure, ie, putting the buildings and mill workings in order, the lake to the NW would need dredging, and the culverts from the NW, and those due south, immediately below the A35. Its a Grade 2 List that'll undoubtedly be left to decay beyond viable repair (often occurs these days). A travesty, as it is part of our heritage with no doubt a long and interesting history, ideally located in an area of great beauty, that with the right management-investment could become a tourist attraction, thus becoming a preserved slice of Local History and a priceless, long-term asset to the local economy. Instead, it'll likely remain an abandoned feature only discovered in coming years by those that can monitor its gradual demise.
We left, making back to the road through the nettles. At that very moment, a ramshackled Land Rover slid past, 100ft from us, the drivers head craning at its approached. He aimed to stop, but was prevented by the speeding traffic behind him. He was obliged to drive past, heading east, and sped up and out of view. He'd obviously seen our car parked in the 'layby' (by logs across the road) and knew what was happening. Instinct kicked in. We vaulted across the busy tarmac and made off like a rocket! We both drove away wondering what can be done for the place? Regards.