Remains of watermill 500m east of Freeth Farm

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes two linear earthworks and associated features representing the remains of a medieval watermill situated in the wooded valley of the Abberd Brook near the village of Compton Bassett, 1.2km west of the edge of the Marlborough Downs. The linear features are orientated north west to south east across the floor of the stream valley and are interpreted as medieval mill dams. They are 340m apart and both are now cut by the stream leaving the mill ponds dry. The dam to the south west is 85m long, up to 3m high and spans the entire valley floor apart from a break through which the stream currently flows. The dam is conical in section, the top is up to 2m wide while the base is up to 22m wide splaying slightly on the east side. On the west side, a channel up to 1.5m wide crosses the top of the dam and is interpreted as a leat possibly associated with the management of the millpond as a fishpond. The level area upstream of the dam is at a higher level than the area downstream. This is interpreted as the silted bottom of the former mill pond. The dam to the north east, upstream of the other is smaller, 60m long and up 2m high. On the east side it stops 40m short of the edge of the valley while the stream cuts the dam close to the valley edge to the north west. There are some remains of a channel crossing the dam to the south east. The mill pond from the larger dam would have reached the base of this structure. It is interpreted as a secondary feature which may have dammed a smaller fishpond. The wood in which the larger of the dams is located is still known as `Mill Pound'. The earthworks are known locally as `Fisheries'. Two mills are mentioned at Compton Bassett in the Domesday book, three estates of the manor of Compton Bassett holding a third share

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.