Archaeology Notes

Event ID 669600

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/669600

NJ71NE 78.00 782 192.

For egg-end boiler, see NJ71NE 78.01.

For probable water-supply lade to the mills (former Aberdeen-Inverurie canal) see NJ71NE 103.00; for controlling sluices (at NJ 7781 2038 and 7782 2038), see NJ72SE 123.01. (Also variously known as Aberdeenshire Canal Navigation, Aberdeen Canal, Inverury Canal and Inverurie Canal).

For sand pit (NJ 7803 1867) within and around the area of the paper mills complex, see NJ71NE 193.

For sections of the Aberdeen-Inverurie canal, see also:

NJ71NE 103.00 7808 1999 to 7999 1560 Ladeside Gardens - Kirk Fold

NJ72SE 123.00 7764 2059 and 7769 2059 to 7808 2000 Elphinstone - Ladeside Gardens

NJ80NE 43 896 099 to 899 096 Bankhead - Bucksburn

NJ81NW 51 8000 1561 to 8499 1566 Kirk Fold - Woodland's Wood

NJ81NE 32 8500 1566 to 863 150 Woodland's Wood - Pitmedden Cottages

NJ81SE 45 863 149 to 896 100 Pitmedden Cottages - Bankhead

NJ90NW 285 900 096 to 948 061 Bucksburn - Aberdeen Harbour

Immediately below an elegant bridge over the Don, a portion of the waters of this river is carried away in a pretty deep channel in order to feed the navigable canal which is carried 18 miles, following a winding route to the harbour of Aberdeen (NJ90NE 7.00). The only portion of the canal open is:- about 60 chains or thereabout immediately where it joins the River Don, and from near the flour mill in Port Elphinstone (NJ72SE 124.00) to the Paper Mill - Inverury Mill (NJ71NE 78.00), chiefly for conveying water to the mill. The course may be traced at many places within the parish and some of the milestones are still standing on its partly levelled banks.

Ordnance Survey Name Book.

The Aberdeen canal was protected in the year 1793 but was not opened until 1807. The length of the canal from Aberdeen harbour (NJ90NE 7.00) to Port Elphinstone, Inverurie (NJ72SE 124.00) was 18-1/4 miles, its breadth was 24 feet and its depth mainly 4 feet. The highest level was at Stoneywood (NJ 89 11), where is reached 168 feet above low water mark. The principal works constructed upon it were 17 locks, 5 aqueduct bridges, 56 accommodation bridges and 20 culverts.

The canal was closed in the passing of the Act in 1854 authorising the Great North of Scotland Railway Company to proceed with their undertaking.

Several stretches of the canal are visible but its channel is now drained of water; the tow-path in these stretches is still well preserved.

Information from Ordnance survey (ESC) 25 October 1961.

P Morgan 1886.

Acts for the building of the canal were passed in 1746 and 1801, and it was constructed with John Rennie as consulting engineer and George Fletcher as resident engineer. It was originally intended to have a gauge of 27-1/3' at surface, 14' at bottom and 4' depth; when opened (in June 1805) it measured 3-1/3' deep and 20' wide at surface. Each of the 17th locks measured 57' in length and 9' in breadth; all of them were situated within 4 miles of Aberdeen. The canal was closed in January 1854 and the successor railway opened in September of the same year.

J Lindsay 1968.

The canal has been largely obliterated by re-use as the line of the Aberdeen-Inverurie railway (GNoSR) but there are visible remains at:

NJ 777 203 Port Elphinstone, site of terminal basin. Buildings only (NJ72SE 124.00).

NJ 783 182-790 171 Fullerton to Tavelty, embankment and terracing (NJ71NE 103.00)

NJ 797 157-802 155 Rosebank to Brae of Kintore, earthen bank to carry towpath (NJ81NW 51)

NJ 807 151-812 151 Dalwearie or Dalweary, earthworks around flat area S of railway (NJ81NW 51)

NJ 844 152-857 152 Woodland's Wood, well-preserved earthworks (NJ81NW 51)

NJ 869 149-872 148 Pair of embankments (NJ81NW 51)

NJ 874 146-876 145 Cut scarped into slope (NJ81NW 51 and NJ81SE 45)

A Graham 1969.

Inverurie Paper Mills, NJ 782 192, founded 1858. A most interesting complex, dominated by a 5-storey brick tower. The other buildings are mainly 1- and 2-storey and rubble-built, although there are some modern additions. Part of the power is derived from 2 water turbines, and the site of 2 large waterwheels can also be seen.

In 1971, there were 2 Belliss & Morcom high-speed engines driving alternators, on standby: a triple-expansion 1000-1100 horsepower engine of 1928 and a compound 900 horsepower of 1937. There was also a 2-cylinder simple vertical Ashworth & Parker engine which formerly drove a paper mill of 1928 and a 2-cylinder simple horizontal engine which had driven a Masson, Scott & Bertram calendar of 1885.

In the repair shop were a lathe, shaper and planer by Crawhall & Campbell, Glasgow (1860-8) formerly driven by a still-surviving 6-spoke, all-iron high-breast bucket wheel about 4 ft (1.22m) wide by 10 ft (3.05m) diameter.

There is still a hand-propelled narrow-gauge railway system in the mills.

J R Hume 1977.

These mills were founded in 1858 and are notable for:

1. waterwheels and turbines,

2. stationary steam engines,

3. narrow gauge railway system,

4. early machine tools,

5. acid-producing tower.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 29 April 1986.

Air photographs: AAS/97/06/G12/13-14.

NMRS, MS/712/29.

Part damaged by fire (which was quite extensive) on 27 August 1979.

NMRS, MS/712/67.