Mill End History
The origins of Mill End Hotel lie in a 15th Century mill, still at the heart of the hotel today, which was built to grind cereal into flour. The main building was built on the basis of a Devon Long House – a design which has formed the core of many of the finest traditional country houses in our part of the South West.
The mill stopped producing flour in 1922, and was converted to a private residence. A few years later, in 1929, Mill End took on its new role as a country hotel.
One of our regular guests kindly provided us with the photos below, which depict Mill End during the Second World War. The bottom photo shows a group of staff from the time, pictured with our guest’s late Mother (bottom right) who was evacuated to Mill End during the war (and who apparently adjusted very well to Devon life, and enjoyed frequent walks along the river into Chagford).
Modern day Mill End has its fair share of celebrity visitors, thanks to our wonderfully private location. Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine, made Mill End his home for several years it is believed.
The 18ft water wheel at the heart of Mill End was renovated in 1998. It is served from a leat (an artificial aqueduct common on Dartmoor) managed by sluice gates off the River Teign, which runs under our kitchens before rejoining the river a little downstream. We are currently working on plans to use the wheel to generate power for Mill End, harnessing age-old technology to do our little bit for sustainability.
If you have your own stories of Mill End’s history, we’d love to hear from you.
In recognition of Sir Frank Whittle: Fan blade from a CFM56 jet engine on display beside the ancient mill wheel at Mill End
