Excavation

Date 27 September 2010 - 16 September 2011

Event ID 963480

Category Recording

Type Excavation

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/963480

NT 17535 67387 A programme of archaeological work was undertaken, 27 September 2010–16 September 2011, on the former tannery buildings at 371 Lanark Road, Currie, prior to and during their demolition.

Kinauld Tannery began life in the late 18th century as a paper manufacturers called Balerno Mill, one of at least two along the Water of Leith in Currie and Balerno. It was abandoned in the late 19th century and lay empty for a time before briefly operating as a glue and gelatine manufacturers. It was purchased in 1913 by J Hewit and Sons and was run as a tannery until 2010, when the company moved out of the premises.

The buildings on the site were dominated by a large four-storey production shed to the E of the site. A number of ancillary stores and stone rubble-built office buildings lay to the W. A stone-built chimney also survived to the E side of the site, attached to a later brick-built boiler house with adjoining two/three-storey production areas behind. A large brick-built drying shed had also been added to the buildings to the S of the site, adjacent to the Water of Leith.

The most interesting feature recorded was located beneath the main production shed, and consisted of the remains of a large water wheel, in a wheel pit, which had been blocked off from the original mill lade (now filled in). It rested over two large lever walls and was set in large bearing blocks.

Once demolished, and the concrete floor slabs of the buildings removed, an evaluation was undertaken to identify any earlier phases of activity. Earlier stone floor surfaces and features were identified and a wider excavation was then undertaken to record these features. To the W of the site there was evidence of two buildings with a small ancillary wheel pit (0.9m wide) between them. To the E of the site the earliest phases of the buildings included another wheel pit (0.55m wide), evidence of an earlier stone slab floor surface and other machine blocks and fittings.

Archive: RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: G Dunbar and Sons (Builders) Ltd

AOC Archaeology Group 2011