The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter

The Old Mill stands at the top of Lower Slaughter, where the lane beside the River Eye meets the footpath to Upper Slaughter. With its tall red-brick chimney and great iron water wheel, it is the one large brick building in a village of stone, built in the early nineteenth century on a site where a mill is recorded in 1502. It is listed Grade II.

History

There has been a mill on the brook at Lower Slaughter for centuries. The Victoria County History says two mills belonged to the royal manor at Domesday in 1086, and one of them was on the Slaughter brook, the stream now called the Eye, possibly on this site. It was known as Slaughter Mill by 1502 and had been separated from the manorial estate by 1735.

The present building

Historic England dates the mill to the early nineteenth century. It was built in two parts, partly in red brick and partly in coursed stone, under Cotswold stone roofs. Most of the original gearing and grinding machinery survives inside.

The Wilkins family and the museum

By 1879 the mill was run by the Wilkins family, and in 1961 it was still working, as a mill and a bakery with a shop. In later years the Wilkins family ran it as a museum, gift shop and ice-cream parlour, until it closed in April 2023 and was sold. In 2024 the new owner, Frederik Jacobs, set out plans to restore the listed building and convert it into a home, and Cotswold District Council licensed a temporary coffee kiosk in a converted horsebox at the entrance.

What to see

The mill is best seen from the lane by the river. On the south gable is the tall red-brick chimney, and the mill keeps a large iron breast-shot wheel, the kind where the water strikes the wheel about halfway up. The listing notes how, as the only large brick building in the village, it takes a notable place in the scene. Behind the wheel, a small humped sluice bridge with no parapet crosses the water channel; it is listed with the mill.

From the mill, look back down the village: the Eye runs between grassy banks and under several plain stone bridges, with cottages on either side.

Visiting

The building is private, so do not expect the museum or shop to be open, but the mill can be seen from the lane and the footpath at any time, free. A coffee kiosk at the entrance, run by The Cotswold Farm, was open at weekends from 10am to 3pm in November 2026; check before you count on it. There are no public toilets in the village; the nearest are in Bourton-on-the-Water. The village is busy at popular times, so come early.

Getting there

There is no public car park in Lower Slaughter, only limited street parking that is hard to find at weekends, and a traffic order of 1995 keeps buses and coaches of nine or more seats out of the village, except local services and drop-offs at the hotels. No timed bus stops here, but the Robin, a minibus you book ahead, serves both Slaughters.

Three of our walks pass the mill. Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter is a 2-mile there-and-back that starts at the Slaughters Country Inn and turns onto the Wardens' Way just past the mill. Bourton, Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter is the loop from Bourton-on-the-Water, and Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters and Naunton is the long day.

Nearby

St Mary's Church is a few minutes' walk down the village, and The Slaughters Country Inn is along the lane, with The Slaughters Manor House beyond. Up the path in Upper Slaughter are St Peter's Church, the castle mound and the Manor House, with Lords of the Manor for afternoon tea. Our story on Cotswold film and TV locations covers the area's screen appearances, among them the 2020 film of Emma, for which much of the outdoor filming was done in Lower Slaughter as the village of Highbury.