Time Team - Dotton Mill, Dotton, Near Otterton, Devon - Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results

Wessex Archaeology

The evaluation did not reveal any structures or features which could be dated to the medieval period. The rebuilding of the mill in the 17th or 18th century, potentially on the site of the original mill, and the re-digging of the leat at a similar time, is likely to have either removed or masked any evidence of the medieval mill.

The project did, however, identify the type of mill which had been used up to the middle of the 20th century. Old photographs of the mill appeared to show the buildings as having an undershot wheel, but it became clear following the excavation of the wheel pit that Dotton Mill was actually powered by a breast-shot wheel. It was possible to show that the mill had undergone a series of refurbishments, with a major phase occurring during the 19th century which saw the rebuilding of the wheel pit and repair to the main walls of the mill. Areas of the domestic part of the mill were also located, including the kitchen floor.