Southvoe, Burn Of Wiltrow, Norse Mill

HU 40057 14507 Later 19th century mill, originally one of a group of three mills located along the same burn. The north mill of the three mills at Southvoe retains a straw thatched roof, whilst the other two mill buildings are now ruins. The mills are associated with the crofting settlement at Southvoe, which is now the Shetland Crofthouse Museum (also thatched, survey number 194). The mill is now part of, and maintained by, the Shetland Crofthouse Museum, however, the building is no longer used as a working mill. The thatch is netted using fishing net, which is weighted down using stones tied to the netting with string, placed at about a foot above the eaves on both the front (north) and back (south) elevation. Whilst the condition of the straw is good, there are a number of small openings in the thatch, along the skews and at the eaves, which is exposing a small amount of the buildings’ interior. The roof is continuously thatched in straw across the ridge.

Visited by Zoe Herbert (SPAB) 23 April 2015, survey no.193