Pricing Change
New pricing for orders of material from this site will come into place shortly. Charges for supply of digital images, digitisation on demand, prints and licensing will be altered.
Peterculter, Kennerty Mills Road, Upper Kennerty Mill
Grain Mill (19th Century), Watermill (19th Century)
Site Name Peterculter, Kennerty Mills Road, Upper Kennerty Mill
Classification Grain Mill (19th Century), Watermill (19th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Kennerty Oat Meal Mills; Kennerty Mills; Kennerty Mill; William L Gavin Ltd
Canmore ID 19429
Site Number NJ80SW 15
NGR NJ 83610 00459
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/19429
![View from north east of remains of barley mill waterwheel (left) and [oat]meal mill waterwheel (right)](http://i.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/l/DP00313757.jpg)
![View from north east of remains of barley mill waterwheel (left) and [oat]meal mill waterwheel (right)](http://i.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore/s/DP00313757.jpg)
- Council Aberdeen, City Of
- Parish Peterculter
- Former Region Grampian
- Former District City Of Aberdeen
- Former County Aberdeenshire
NJ80SW 15.00 83610 00459
NJ80SW 15.01 83770 00392 Kennerty Lower Mill (8 Burnside Road)
(AAS 9). Lower mill: SIAS survey AB12/GR8.
(AAS 25). Upper mill: SIAS survey 1983.
NMRS, MS/712/76.
Ordnance Survey grid reference quoted (NJ 8377 0039) is erroneous. Grid reference should read NJ 8361 0046.
Information from RCAHMS (RC), 13 September 1999.
NJ80SW 15.00 83610 00459
NMRS REFERENCE:
Peterculter, Upper Kennerty Mill, Grain Milling.
VHS video of the mill available, currently (Oct 1989) held in the RCAHMS photographic department, Melville Street. Please ask for details.
NMRS Reference.
This item is missing.
Information from RCAHMS (LM) 12 June 2012
NJ80SW 15.01 83770 00392
(Named as Mill of Kennerty and location cited as NJ 837 003). Built 1838, rebuilt and extended 1942 by W L Gavin. A 2- and 3-storey rubble building with corrugated-iron extension. There are two 6-spoke, low-breast, wood and iron paddle wheels, both about 4ft (1.22m) wide by 13ft (3.96m) in diameter. Still in use.
The lower mill (NJ 838 003) has been converted into a house.
J R Hume 1977
(AAS 9). Lower mill: SIAS survey AB12/GR8.
(AAS 25). Upper mill: SIAS survey 1983.
NMRS, MS/712/76.
NMRS REFERENCE:
Peterculter, Upper Kennerty Mill, Grain Mill
VHS video available showing the mill in use: currently (Oct 1989) held in the photographic dept., Melville Street.
Please ask for details.
Field Visit (8 October 1983)
Introduction
A datestone on the W wall of the original part of the mill suggests that the building was completed in in 1838. The original 'L' plan of the mill can be seen on the First Edition Ordnance Survey mps sheets of 1865. The mill had been extended by the time of the publication of the Second Edition Ordnance Survey map in 1899, and was later further extended during alterations in the 1930s and 1940s. The ensuing layout is therefore one of a complicated assembly of buildings, at the rear of which is the original mill, itself a rubble structure between two and three storeys, with a slate roof.
Upper Kennerty Mill is an important site not only because of its excellent working condition and unique form, but also because of the superb documentary surces available, and because of the information provided by the miller, William L. Gavin, whose knowledge and assitance has been invaluable. The most striking feature of the mill is the fact that it has two paddle wheels (start and awe type), one of which drives the meal mill and the other, a barley mill.
Waterwheels and Sluices
The waterwheels are identical and are fed from a common lade drawn off the Culter Burn. A system of sluices controls the water as it approaches the wheels, which are approximately the same level, and which are in sequence.
The main lade, which is lined with concrete, divides just in front of the first of the two wheels, ensuing an individual water supply to each wheel. The waterwheels themselves are 4.2 m in diameter by 1.18m in width, and are constructed from two cast-iron outer rings. There are 30 wooden paddles, each about 0.03m thick and 0.30m deep, all of which are supported on 0.10m by 0.10m pieces of wood that are secured in sockets cast into the iron rings. The latter are joined to the cast-iron hubs by six 'T' section arms, also of cast-iron. The hubs are attached to the waterwheel shaft (axletree) by eight packing pieces. There is, within this arrangement, and additional small lade with a small waterwheel. This turns at a constant speed, powering a shaking sieve which cleaned shelled barley.
The sluices may be operated from inside the mill by a light chain leading to a hand-wheel, and through chain drums both inside and outside the mill. The sluice gates may therefore be raised and lowered by turning the hand-wheel, which, through the chain and chain drums, turns a shaft outside the mill. On this shaft are two cog-wheels which, when rotating, engage with two sets of cast-iron teeth fixed to the sluice gate itself. This arrangement allies to both sluices installed directly above each of the waterwheels.
The Meal Mill
The first of the waterwheels drives the meal mill. Power from the waterwheel is transmitted through the cast-iron pit-wheel inside the mill which has 120 wooden teeth. The pit-wheel drives one pair of millstones directly (the grinding stones) 1.20m in diameter. A cast-iron spur gear takes power off the pit-wheel, driving a bevel gear, thereby providing power to a second pair of millstones (shelling stones) 1.40m in diameter. A series of pulleys and belts provides power from the latter for a third pair of millstones (also shelling stones). An electric motor was installed after World War II to allow for the simultaneous use of machinery, particularly when water was low. Because of the direct mesh with the pit-wheel, the meal stones were not connected to the auxiliary electric system. The belt-driven third pair of millstones has a wooden bridge piece. The other two pairs of millstones are supported by cast-iron bridge pieces.
The remainder of the mill machinery is driven through line shafts, pulleys and belts, the first line shaft emanating from the front of the gear cupboard. It drives a pair of sieves, a shaking screen/conveyor, fanners and augers. The second line shaft drives the sack hoist, bucket elevators, seed dressers, oatmeal screens/ sieves, and an oat cutter.
The Barley Mill
The second waterwheel drives a barley mill, which receives its power through a system of gears, belts and pulleys from the pit -wheel. In addition to the barley mill itself, the other belt driven pieces of equipment include fanners, augers, bucket elevators and a shaking screen. Perhaps the most interesting is a Separator (made by Grant and Co. of Kirkcaldy) which can be found in the attic. This piece of equipment is more normally associated with sorting rice. In this case, it has been used to separate shelled and un-shelled grain.
The Kiln
The kiln, which occupied the western am of the mill, has a first floor area of 5.30m by 5.80m, which is constructed from cast-iron floor tiles 0.30m square . Above the floor is a ridged slate roof, in the middle of which there is a tall, square, wooden ventilator with louvered sides, and a pyramidial top.
Recent History
When it was taken over by Mr William L. Gavin in 1917, it was a barley mill housing two pairs of shelling stones, two barley mills and a kiln. After a fire in the 1940s, a larger, improved kiln was built, and a third pair of (grinding) millstones was added, allowing for the production of oatmeal. At the same time, dressers, separators, elevators and other pieces of modern milling equipment were installed. The rebuilding programme involved the restoration of only one of the barley mills. The rest of the machinery was new, and included a grain bruiser and a hammer mill.
In more recent times, the mill has produced oatmeal, groats and animal feed. The reason for the retention of the barley milling equipment relates to the production of white groats. The latter are oats which have been dried, and then put through the shelling stones twice before being dispatched to the Grant separator (to remove the un-shelled grain). The shelled oats are damped, and then stored for at least 24 hours. Following this process, the oats are sent to the barley mill for about 30 minutes to be polished. After being fanned to remove the dust, the grain is bagged and is ready to be sold. White groats are a major constituent of pork pies.
Upper Kennerty Mill ceased milling operations in the early 1980s. Although its future is uncertain, the mill remained in working condition when visited in 1983 and 1984, and continues to be well cared for.
MS232/Gr/Ab/12; Recorded and surveyed by Scottish Industrial Archaeology Survey and RCAHMS (Graham J Douglas and Miles K Oglethorpe), 08 October 1983.
Photographic Survey (August 2018)
A photographic survey was carried out by HES at Upper Kennerty Mill. It was severely damaged by fire in 2006 with much of the 1940s machinery destroyed in the oatmeal mill (north) section.The kiln block (kiln, 1940s refit) and the ground floor of the original barley mill machinery and area survived, the upper floor burnt, although current owner put the roof back on to the mill to save the remains of the interior. Plans by current owner to convert the mill to a dwelling were underway on the date of visit.
Visited by Survey and Recording Section (MMD), HES, 28 August 2018.
