Countess Weir Paper Mill

Heritage listing

Details SX 99 SW 871/24/10075 23-JUN-00 MILL LANE, Countess Wear Paper Mill II Paper mill. Disused and in poor condition at time of survey. Probably early C19. Brick laid English bond; natural slate roof, gabled at ends (partly roofless); cast-iron windows. Plan: Sited on an island formed from the division of a leat off the River Exe and surrounded by controlled water. The existing building is all that survives above ground, apart from some low walls, of what was a large industrial complex by the 1880s. Rectangular 13-bay building, on a NW/SE axis, which once extended further at both ends. The NW five bays, divided from the rest of the building by a full-height brick wall, are now roofless and were evidently partly or wholly 2 storey at one time with two tiers of windows in the rear (W) wall and evidence for joist sockets on the NW end wall. The rest of the building is single storey and divided into two by a timber-framed crosswall. The three SE bays contain a small office and the remains of a pit parallel to the end wall. Exterior: Single storey, partly 2 storey at the NW end at one time. Asymmetrical 13-bay E front with segmental-headed windows with brick arches and small-pane cast iron fixed windows (glass missing) that may have had an opening pane in the centre, judging by the pattern of the glazing bars. 2 round-headed doorways, the right-hand (N) doorway taller with surviving timber frame, door missing. The next doorway to the left (S) is also round-headed with a vertical plank door with strap hinges and simple metal latch. The third doorway, which is segmental-headed with a ledged and braced vertical plank door is probably a conversion from a window, judging from a c.1880 model of the site. The rear (W) elevation also has cast iron windows with 2 tiers of windows

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.