Wades Mill: Historic Mill Conversion near Slad, Stroud
Wades Mill is a small historic stone mill in the Slad Valley near Stroud, converted into a compact two-bedroom home by Cotswold Architects. With no extension possible, the design fits two bedrooms, a bathroom and an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space within the mill’s original footprint.
Location: Slad Valley, near Stroud, Gloucestershire
Type: Mill conversion
Original building: Derelict stone mill
Works: Conversion and refurbishment into a compact home
Status: Completed [2025]
Architect: Cotswold Architects – Matthew Edwards ARB, RIBA Chartered Practice
Services: Feasibility studies, planning
A derelict mill in the Slad Valley
Wades Mill is a small stone building set in the valley between Slad and Stroud, surrounded by farmland and with a stream nearby. After purchasing the mill and surrounding land at auction, the owner appointed Cotswold Architects to explore its conversion into a home.
Working within the existing footprint
The building contained just one room on each floor, no internal staircase and only one ground-floor window. With an extension unsuitable under local planning policies, the challenge was to create comfortable accommodation within the existing footprint.
A compact two-bedroom layout
Through several architectural feasibility studies, we developed a layout with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space below.
A refurbishment carried out by the owner
Our client undertook the painstaking refurbishment of Wades Mill themselves. This included a sewage treatment plant, a gabion retaining wall to create level access from the road, and a driveway across the field. A wood-burning stove fuelled by locally sourced timber provides the principal heating source.
A practical home in a modest building
Wades Mill demonstrates how careful historic building refurbishment can create a practical home within a modest existing structure.
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