M Urquhart: Water Mills pt 2

MARGARET URQUHART: WATER MILLS PT. 2

The museum possesses 4 Valuation Rolls for the Easter Ross District for the years 1868-9, 1898, 1905 and 1919. Apart from the confirmation that certain mills existed and the names of some of the millers associated with these mills, the most interesting point to emerge is that by 1919 many of the mills are either no longer mentioned or are listed as “vacant” and one or two did not get a mention in 1905. It would thus seem that by that time local corn (meal) milling had become concentrated in a few larger mills such as at Milton and Aldie, or survived in more remote places where there was a local demand combined with the difficulty of obtaining supplies elsewhere because of distance eg. Gledfield. These 3 mills continued well into the 20th Century. Aldie Burn/Tain River Mills Anyone who has walked the Aldie Burn Trail will have crossed the bridge near the fish-shaped pond. Next to this bridge is what was an old fording point on the burn and next to that is the intake point where water was diverted into a system of lades and dams to power the mill system referred to by Peter Mackenzie (see Water Mills – Part 1). The water was first led to a dam situated behind where Tigh na Greine now is on Scotsburn Road. This dam is labelled “old sawmill dam” on a plan showing the line of the pipeline for Tain’s water supply which was carried from springs beyond Culpleasant, so it is possible that an old building shown on that site but in a different position from the current house may have been a saw mill. From this dam the lade joined and ran parallel to Scotsburn Road before it took a sharp turn just beyond Moor Farm and cut across to feed a large dam on the northern edge of Highmills Wood. About another three quarters of a mile of lade connected this to the next dam just NW of the mills at High Mills. Having turned the High Mill wheels, the water passed by a short channel back into the Aldie Burn. Water was soon diverted into another lade at a weir south of Woodside Cottage to link up with the Aldie Mill dam and mills. From there it was led again by a lade to the mill dam of a first set of Hilton Mills and once more to the dam at a second set of Hilton Mills lower down before re-joining the natural watercourse, by then given the grand name of Tain River. High Mills, sometimes referred to as the “Over Mills of Aldie” in early documents, and the first set of mills on the system, were the town mills and as such contributed to the burgh’s revenue. Corn mills existed there in some form or other in 1602 – the earliest reference in MacGill’s “Old Ross-shire” - but were obviously already established prior to that date. The exact dates and uses of the mill buildings at High Mills are not clear. Alterations and even replacements would have taken place over such a long period. There are references to the town mills being in “bad order” and a new mill being built at different times in the 1700s and early 1800s. The extract map shows the layout of High Mills with three mills, one below the other. All three buildings definitely still existed up to the early 1900s. One of these was perhaps a saw mill. The first suggestion of a saw mill is in a burgh rental book where a Finlay Munro is listed as “Sawyer at Highmills” for the years 1838-42. In the 1897-8 burgh account a bill was paid to an Alexander Mackenzie for “repairing the sawmill and dam at Highmills” and in the 1901-2 account, money was received for the “plant at Highmills sawmill”. The latter reference suggests it was no longer in use. This was probably the uppermost of the three mills and was demolished at some point, possibly not long after it went out of use, and only two mills remained. These were originally corn mills (usually referred to as meal mills) and were leased out periodically along with some adjacent farm

land although the latter was sometimes leased separately or sub-let. From the Valuation Rolls and Burgh Records one can chart the changes of tenancy of the mills during the 19th Century. In 1800 the lease was given to Robert Murray “at” Hartfield, supposedly for 57 Years! However, leases seldom ran their full term for a variety of reasons. In 1809/10 the mills and houses were in a ruined state when set to James and Robert Innes, millwrights for 25 years. They were allowed two years rent free for repairs to the mills and £150 for repair to the houses. By 1825 the tenants are “Innes and Duncan”. In 1835 the lease is taken over by the brothers, James (a miller) and Alexander (a corn merchant) Ross, who continued till 1874/75 when George Shearer briefly took on a 19 year lease which was transferred to George Munro, miller, in 1876. He in turn was followed by Alex Mackay, 1886 -1893, and Kenneth Stewart, 1893-96. These lets were usually advertised in local newspapers and in public notices and took place by public roup. The following details are taken from one such notice date 2nd February 1874 – “Meal Mills & Farm to Let; well-known and long-established Mills at HighMills being exposed for set with lands attached; c26 acres arable, c.34 acres pasture; lease 19 years”. At the beginning of Stewart’s tenure in 1893, the mills were subjected to major repairs overseen by James Maitland of the Maitland firm of architects based in Tain. However a major change was to take place in 1897 when the firm was then employed to design their reconstruction as woollen mills for the new tenant, John Skene, a woollen manufacturer. The following advert appeared in the 1910 Easter Ross Almanac- “John Skene & Co., Highmills Tain, manufacture parties’ own Wool into Tweeds, Blankets, Plaiding, Knitting Yarn, &c., or exchange for Wool. Always on hand a stock of Tweeds, Blankets, Plaiding, Yarn, &c., for sale.” However, sometime between 1915 and 1919 the mills became vacant. I don’t know when he took on the lease but when the mills and farm were finally sold by the Burgh in 1928, they were at that point occupied by Alexander Younie, woollen manufacturer.

The purchaser was

Ronald Ross Munro

Macdonald, his being the only offer made.

The mills fell into disuse and they gradually became derelict as shown in

Photo 1 taken c.2000.

As can be seen, the upper mill was in a very bad state with half the roof missing.

In 1896-7, the burgh received revenue from Alex Gair, miller, Fearn, for stones and mill plates. As Fearn mill was a meal mill this suggests the corn mill was now defunct and assets were being sold . I think perhaps only the lower larger mill was used for the woollen manufacture. If so it would help explain why the upper mill was in a poorer condition. Thankfully, although a long time in coming to fruition, the current owner, a descendent of R R M Macdonald, had the vision to renovate and convert the buildings into a family home while preserving as much of the old buildings as possible. (See Photo 2) This was finally achieved in 2011. The professionals employed to make the vision a reality managed so successfully that the project won a North Region Highland and Islands Design Award. Note the retention of the mill wheels. The buildings have thus been brought back from the brink of oblivion and a piece of local history still has a physical presence.