Stanley Mills, Bell Mill

The Bell Mill was the first mill in the Stanley Complex to be built.

J Butt 1967

Founded in the same year as New Lanark by George Dempster, in association with Arkwright and a group of Perth merchants, upon land feued from the Duke of Atholl, the cotton mills and factory village of Stanley constitute another early industrial enterprise developed on model lines. The existing mill complex, which is situated in a steep wooded valley on the N bank of the River Tay consists principally of Bell Mill, or West Mill, completed by 1790, East Mill (c. 1840), and Mid Mill (c.1850), the buildings being ranged round three sides of an irregular courtyard with a tall free-standing chimney in the centre. The mills were originally powered by seven giant water-wheels generating a total of 400 horsepower, and linked to an underground conduit system some 800 ft (244m) in length, which drew the waters from the River Tay on the N side of Sheil Hill. The village occupies a level site on higher ground to the wand comprises neat rows of two-storeyed terraced houses laid out on a regular plan, some of stone and others of brick; evidently by 1828 it also included a church, school and shops, and a tenement block.

The most noteworthy building is Bell Mill, which is perhaps the best surviving example in Scotland of the earlier narrow mill with wooden floors and limited headroom. Originally of six storeys and measuring 90 ft by 28 ft (27.43m by 8.53m) internally, the building has a modest width relative to the substantial cross-beams (14 in by 10 1/4 in; 356mm by 260mm) which were probably designed to span from wall to wall; in the existing arrangement, however, the basement and ground storey are combined into one, and the floors supported on a central row of cast-iron columns.

The external walls are built in masonry to first-floor level and in brick above-the latter being made on site from local clays and laid in Flemish bond. Other salient characteristics are the slated and gabled roof capped by a handsome belfry and weather-vane at the S end; and an ample regular fenestration composed of segmentally arched sash-windows. The W elevation, with its slightly advanced central portion, and the small circular, ogival-roofed lodge-house (c. 1876), standing a short distance to the S, makes a fitting architectural frontispiece to the mill complex.

Information from ‘Monuments of Industry: An Illustrated Historical Record’, (1986).

Stanley is one of the earliest examples of a model textile manufactory. The village and mills were designed as a unit to introduce cotton spinning and weaving to the area. This was the result of an initiative by George Dempster of Dunnichen in association with Sir Richard Arkwright, who were backed by a number of Perth merchants. The village and mills were founded in 1785, the same year as the more famous New Lanark.

The existing mill complex comprises an irregular courtyard containing a large free-standing chimney and bounded by: the Bell Mill, completed in 1790; the East Mill dating from about 1840; and the Mid Mill from about 1850. The six-storey Bell Mill is probably the best surviving Scottish example of a narrow body mill with timber floors and limited headroom. The building measures 27.4m by 8.5m internally and is amply provided with large regularly-spaced case and sash windows. The building is covered with a blue slated, gabled roof with a handsome belfry on the north gable. The walls are of masonry to fIrst-goor level and of brick above. These bricks were made on site from local clays.

Originally the mills were powered by seven large waterwheels fed by some 244m of conduit and producing a total of 400 horsepower.

The village stands on a level area of high ground to the west of the mill complex and originally comprised a regular layout of two-storey terraced houses, some built of stone and others of brick. By 1828, the village also boasted a church, school, shops and a tenement block. Many of the houses in the village have been remodelled in recent years and, although they have their original massing, the materials, fmish and scale have all been changed.

Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Fife and Tayside’, (1987).

NO 114 328 A watching brief was undertaken in July 2002 at Stanley Mills, near Perth, to examine and record waterlogged timbers found during clearance operations in the East and Bell Mill Lades.

One piece of apparently loose timber of good quality found in the Bell Mill Lade has been provisionally identified as a wall plate. This timber would have been laid horizontally along the wall head of a building and the roof timbers would have been tied into it. The design of two other timber features along with associated structures indicated a form of sluice gate at two separate locations in the East Mill Lade.

G Ewart and D Stewart 2002

Sponsor: Historic Scotland

Kirkdale Archaeology

NO 1139 3686 An archaeological excavation, watching briefs and standing building recording was undertaken between March 2006 and February 2007 by CFA Archaeology Ltd. A wide range of features have been brought to light for the first time. The most important find is the foundation of the Corn Mill. Although this appears to have been cleared to ground level, its principal elements such as supporting wall foundations and internal partitions have survived. The installation of the new lift shaft in Mid Mill has allowed important structural evidence to be gleaned from the examination of the cast-iron framework that is echoed throughout the building. Miscellaneous features include water-powered wheels in the Bell Mill during the late 18th and 19th centuries, with a water-driven turbine providing electricity to drive line-shafts in the early 20th century.