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St
Mary’s
Mill,
Chalford
St
Mary’s
Mill,
Chalford
St Mary’s Mill
An opportunity to visit one of the region’s most attractive mill sites, adjacent to the canal and the railway.
This beautifully situated c.1820 mill houses a large waterwheel and a powerful Tangye steam engine, which can be seen in action (although not by steam as its boiler has long gone).
Visits
The mill is privately owned and is only open on selected days as announced, with kind permission of the owners. The next open day will be on Sunday 29th June 2025, when the mill will be open for visits between 2.00 and 4.00 pm. Please click on the button below to Book a Visit.
Directions
Address: St Mary’s Mill, London Road, St Marys, Chalford GL6 8NX
By car or on foot: Park in Chalford, or take a bus from Stroud to Chalford. Then walk in the direction of Stroud along the A419 London Road or along the canal towpath. The road down to St Mary’s Mill is on the left, running south from London Road, crossing a manned level crossing over the railway line.
There is no parking at St Mary’s Mill, and there are no facilities.
St Mary’s Mill in Chalford is one of the most picturesque mills in the Stroud Valleys. Built like a diminutive Ebley Mill, it retains an imposing but static waterwheel. A Tangye steam engine, which was working until the 1960s, is now powered by electricity; reportedly, it is the largest of its type in its original position.
Within the mill, the massive remains of the last working fulling stocks in Gloucestershire (from Cam Mill) are explained; there is also a milling machine that replaced the stocks. Like the waterwheel, it was built nearby by Ferrabee at Phoenix Ironworks, Thrupp. Also on display is a West of England gig mill, currently undergoing restoration. It was rescued from Longfords Mill, where it had been used for about 100 years to raise the nap on quality West of England cloth.
With a history dating back to the Middle Ages, St Mary’s is an excellent example of how the countryside was once busy with industry.
