A tower mill, built by Mr. Griffin at the end of the 18th century, on the boundary between Swannington and Thringstone, replaced an earlier post mill sited nearby, and was being operated in the mid 1800s by James Kerby, as a tenant of the Griffins. He paid a rent of £30 per annum for the mill, piggeries and shed but in 1877 the mill with house and land was put up for auction. It was purchased by John Hough, steward to the Beaumonts of Coleorton, for £1175 and it continued to be worked by James Kerby and then Walter Chester, who was the last man to work the mill commercially. The mill finally ceased operation in the early 20th century and then progressively fell into disrepair. It is said that some of its ironwork was removed in 1940 for the war effort and by the time the Trust purchased the site in 1994 all that remained of the listed building was a very badly weathered shell of the tower, with a few rotting floor beams and the last residues of the cap frame.