Cobland Mill was built sometime in the early 19th century. It had a sixteen foot diameter overshot water wheel that was used for grinding grain. In the late 19th century the mill was abandoned after which it was used for sheep shearing when it then became known as ‘Lake Barn’. The name ‘Eglarooze’ means ‘chapel on the promontory’ and it refers to a chapel dedicated to St. Winnows that was sited somewhere between Cobland Mill and ‘Lower Eglarooze’ and ‘Higher Eglarooze’ (now called St. Winnows) immediately to the north. The chapel was owned by the priors of St. Germans but fell into disuse after the abolition of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539. Small pieces of the chapel have been found at Cobland Mill. The fields surrounding the mill are now owned by the Duchy of Cornwall but from the early 18th century they were part of the Port Eliot Estate. Cobland Mill was bought as an abandoned ruin from the Port Eliot Estate in the year 2000 and then converted into residential use. It is Grade II listed.

During the 18th century a natural lake opposite the mill existed at the confluence of the streams coming from the Hendra Valley to the north and the Triffle Valley to the south. A reservoir utilising this water was first proposed in November 1883 to serve the parishes of St. Germans, Sheviock and Anthony but it was never built. After the First World War a larger facility was proposed because of the growth in population of the nearby town of Torpoint. A dam was completed in 1922 and the lake which it created held five million gallons of water carried through two large iron pipes down the valley to a pumping station near to Anthony House. The reservoir was abandoned in 1954 and drained. It was bought by the owners who were converting the mill in 2000 and they reinstated the old reservoir into an amenity lake. Planning permission was granted to build a new winery next to the lake and we were ask to carry out the stonework cladding to the new winery.

The building had already been built when we arrived, so all we had to do was clad three elevations in stone which consisted of natural rustic slate sourced from Trecarne quarry on Bodmin Moor. A traditional mortar was used to build it incorporating a mature lime putty. Lime putty is primarily used as a binder in building materials like mortars, renders, and plasters, making them breathable and flexible. It can also be diluted with water to create lime wash. Lime putty is particularly favoured for historic building repair and conservation due to its softness, permeability, and flexibility. The stonework was going to be taken up to first floor level, the rest was going to be clad in vertical slate.

The back of the new building was built into the reservoir wall and provisions had been made to re-instate the old water wheel which had originally came from Cobland Mill across the road. The water wheel is waiting to be restored. The cast iron alone weighs in at just over three and a half tons.

The original granite load bearing stones that took the weight of the water wheel were also going to be used.

In this area, where the water wheel was going to go, the stonework was took up all the way to roof level. In the wall here, we created a small niche in re-claimed brick on top of the granite load bearing stone to facilitate the installation of the water wheel once it had been restored.

Once all the stone was completed the upper storey was vertically clad in natural slate.

The top floor of the building looks out over the lake.

The ground floor contains fermentation and pressing areas together with a store capable of containing 5000 bottles in-bond. The winery contains a half-ton rotary press, 1500 litres of stainless tankage, two plate filters, a corking machine, a crusher and de-stemmer, a rotary press together with various pumps, bottle capper and gravity filler. The vineyard operated as a commercial venture between 2006 and in 2012 it was decided to cease operations. Two and a half thousand vines were removed leaving a small outside vineyard containing white wine grapes (Orion and Phoenix varieties) which have been maintained in cropping condition.

When the winery was completed we then went on to build a tiered retaining wall incorporating a flight of steps in stone. We’ve also repaired an existing wall and built a new retaining wall over the road at Cobland Mill itself, and if you are interested in that, you just need to click here.