Path Head Farmstead and Corn Mill

The once picturesque village of Path Head was for centuries connected with the Nunnery at Stella Hall. Path Head Farm, once belonging to the Cowen's of Stella Hall (HER ref. 1694), played an important role in the economy of the area providing horses and other services to the horse drawn wagonways and coal mines in the area. Of the surviving buildings, the mill appears to be slightly later in construction, but documentary evidence suggests that the mill pre-dates the main farm buildings, the layout of which suggests a date prior to the mid 19th century. The documentary investigation of this site is complicated by the existence of a further watermill on the banks of the Blaydon Burn, which is also referred to as Path Head Mill (HER ref. 3423). The buildings, with the exception of the later farmhouse, dating from the early years of the 20th century, were in place by the mid 1850s. The corn mill and leat were restored by the Vale Mill Trust in 1995-6, and the farmhouse and outbuildings were converted for residential use soon after. LOCAL LIST