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Silverburn flax (scutching) mill
Date 7 November 2023
Event ID 1166184
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1166184
Silverburn Flax (Scutch) Mill
NO30SE 24.1
NO39381 01948
Observations:
The engine house has remnants of two phases of foundations.
There is an ashlar sill that carried the bearing for the flywheel which operated the machinery.
There are surviving brackets (cast iron) fixed to the brick internal pillars between arches. On the other side of the brackets are surviving pateras plates which would have braced against the vibration of the line shafting. Some of the arches have subsequently been blocked.
Internal columns are formed from two water down pipes joined together with bracing struts to the roof. This was the bale storage area to provide the height needed to store the flax bales until needed. The floor may have been further lowered to increase storage capacity, but this is unverified.
Information from Mark Watson (Historic Environment Scotland), 2016.
Scutching: the separating of flax fibre from its woody stems
Bale: a cuboid parcel containing compressed plant material due for further processing
Line shaft: a longitudinal pole running the length of a workshop and from which belting attached to machinery was attached
