Stoke Mill is subject to a planning application (25/P/00654) to change the use of the building to become a pub, with some accommodation also provided on site. The Mill complex which is very much a landmark as one approaches Guildford either on Ladymead or from the Woking Road. It is also visible from users of the Wey navigation. This use will replace the current use of the building as offices. Stoke Mill has been vacant for several years.
No Listing.
The River Wey catchment area had one of the densest mill populations in the country. Stoke Mill is probably the best-preserved brick built Victorian Mill along the river. Historic photographs show that the Mill is substantially as built; except for the replacement of shuttered openings by windows. Stoke Mill is not listed either nationally or locally; having been de-listed as a Grade II building in 1988.
Many of the other existing mill buildings along the Wey have either been demolished or modified substantially e.g. at Eashing, or are of a very different form e.g. Byfleet Mill which is a grade II listed but is of lapboard construction though of the same date as the Stoke Mill building. Elstead Mill which is grade II* is of an earlier date and incorporates much of its original mill equipment.
We are grateful that the current application respects the current fabric of the mill buildings to a large extent. We are extremely concerned that the Stoke Mill is not properly protected by an appropriate listing. The Society is trying to find out why the mill was delisted in 1988.
We believe that there is a very strong case for making Stoke Mill at the absolute minimum a locally listed building, and we would hope that Historic England would review the reasoning behind de-listing the building in 1988 and restore its listing so that it is protected for the future.
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