the original home of the de Chalkfordes who are mentioned in documents as early as 1240. The house, formerly known as the Companys Arms, is one of the earlier houses in the valley. Built as a mill owner's house it became an inn in the 19th century. It owed its name Companys Arms to the East India Company for which the mills of Chalford supplied much of its cloth. It remained an inn until the 1960s when it reverted to its former name of Chalford Place. The house lay derelict for many years until it was recently purchased and is now being restored by the artist Damien Hirst Surviving mills in Chalford parish St Mary's Mill Clayfields/Ballingers Mill Iles Mill Belvedere Mill Bliss Mills (Bliss, New, Mugmore, Spring and Wood.) Now part of the Chalford industrial estate. Woolings Mill (including Sevilles upper mill.) Smart Mill (formerly known as Stoneford, Bidmeads, Hoptons and Halliday Mill.) Valley or Morton's Mill The mill race of Ashmeads Mill remains; the mill itself was demolished in the early 1900s. Notable former mill owners' houses Brookside Belvedere Mill House Chalford Place Chestnut House (Smarts Mill House) Green Court Old Valley Inn (formerly Clothier's Arms) Sevilles House Springfield House St Mary's Mill House Vale House Listed buildings Grade II*: Chalford Place, St John the Baptist, St Mary's House, Wing Cottage Grade II: Baptist Chapel, Church of St Michael and All Angels, Christ Church, France Congregational Church and Hall Modern Chalford In February 2008, Chalford hit the headlines when a community plan to reintroduce donkeys as a way of carrying shopping up the steep, narrow hills became public. On 5 September 2009 Chalford Community Stores allowed customers to purchase shares in the business. The store, which has been running with the aid of a volunteer workforce since 2003, is now affiliated with the independent organisation Co-operatives UK, making the share issue possible. On 4 March 2012 the store and the donkey were featured in an episode of Countryfile. The store prospered within the local church hall but returned to the High Street in May 2014 and now thrives in the former Seventh Day Adventist Hall. This was made possible by a second community share issue which raised in excess of £50,000 alongside a bank loan and various grants. Notable residents Notable residents include James Bradley, the third Astronomer Royal, who died in Chalford in 1762, and the 19th-century