Strathmiglo, West Mill

NO21SW 262.00 21083 10046

NO21SW 262.01 21103 10056 West Mill House

An early 19th-century water-powered grain mill, with adjacent miller's 2-storeyed house. A door lintel on the NW side of the mill refers to John A Fraser as the tenant miller in 1824, and to his son Robert being miller in 1875. All buildings in the complex are built from mostly random or roughly squared pink sandstone rubble, and are roofed with red pantiles.

The mill range is divided into three distinct parts, the S portion of which appears to have been a store. The central 3-storeyed block contains the mill itself, is built on an 'L' plan, and incorporates a water-wheel house containing an undershot water wheel (steel-framed, six steel arms, and 30 wooden buckets). The water wheel, and associated gear cupboard had recently undergone restoration at the time of survey (2001), as had the pair of millstones on the first floor. The N portion of the mill range houses the remains of a detached kiln and cart bay with space for storage above. The kiln retains a small roof ventilator, and is unusual not only because it is detached from the main mill, but also because access to its firebox is external through a low arch in the NW side of the kiln.

The mill is supplied with water by a lade 1,500 metres long. Water is delivered to the water wheel by a steel flume with a trap-door bypass, but a main bypass system is controlled by a sluice immediately to the NW of the mill, which diverts water into channel running to the W side of the mill.

The mill has been restored to working order since being purchased in 1988.

Information from RCAHMS

(MKO) 2001.