Tuckenhay Mill is one of the most remarkable industrial buildings in Devon. Nestled in the valley of the River Wash, a tributary of the Dart, it was in its heyday in the 19th century when it produced high quality handmade paper for legal documents, writing and art paper and banknotes. The mill used rags rather than wood pulp to make the paper and at its peak it employed over 100 people.
It closed in 1970 after 141 years of paper making. The equipment was scrapped and the buildings abandoned. Five years later Peter Wheeler, a surveyor who had already begun the restoration of industrial buildings at Camden Lock in London and had taken regular holidays in the South Hams, along with his wife Kay saw an advertisement offering Tuckenhay Mill for sale. It was a challenge he could not resist.
The owners had hoped to demolish the buildings and use the site for development, but planners placed a preservation order on the clock tower and the drying loft and then granted planning permission for converting the Mill to a new use. Peter saw the potential to create a complex of holiday lets that would reflect the character of the remarkable building.
John Hitchins asks Peter about his acquisition of the Mill, its re-development and its future…
