The Trust’s first project was the painstaking restoration of this mid-19th century watermill near Guisborough. Although privately owned it is still operated by the Trust and the Friends of Tocketts Mill as a working museum and is open to visitors on Sunday afternoons in the spring and summer months.

Restoration was started in the 1970s by Peter Morgan, Peter Oberon and John Harrison and students from South Park Sixth Form College, Normanby.

In 1982 Tees Heritage (then called Cleveland Buildings Preservation Trust) leased the building from the owners of the adjoining caravan park. John Harrison and Peter Morgan, as directors of the Trust then continued their work on the mill using labour recruited under the Manpower Services Commission’s job creation schemes and opened the mill to visitors.

In 1982 a group of volunteers, The Friends of Tocketts Mill was set up. Since that time the Friends, co-ordinated by Alan Burgess, have operated the mill for the benefit of the public. In 1991 there were 642 visitors to the mill.

In 2008-2009 the building was re-roofed and inappropriate ribbon pointing removed from the walls by the new owners, The Hornsea Caravan Parks Limited (Davis and Paul Allison).