Visit to New Abbey Corn Mill on Sat 9th May 2015

New Abbey was one of the mills in Scotland celebrating National Mills weekend. The mill is set in the pretty village of New Abbey and was probably built about 700 years ago by the Cistercian monks of the nearby Sweetheart Abbey.
The present mill was built by the Stewarts of Shambellie House in the 1790's, altered and updated, before finally closing after the Second World War. The mill was bought in 1970 by Charles Stewart, a descendant of the original Stewarts and eventually given over to the state in 1978. Historic Scotland finally opened it to the public in 1983.

When it was left to the state everything was included - buildings, machinery, fixtures and fittings -just as the last miller left it. This obviously helped when restoration work began!

The mill pond is situated above the mill and is a haven for wildlife. Many insects, wild flowers, birds and red squirrels have been seen around the pond.

The water runs through a sluice gate, down the lade and into the water wheel. The miller can control the flow of water to the wheel. The wheel was of a very advanced and efficient design for its time. The used water is taken away to the fish pond just below the mill.

Inside, the mill is on 3 floors. The ground floor houses the machinery for powering the mill stones on the first floor and the loft on the top floor was for storing the grain.


The heat from the kiln dried the grain

The oat bruiser loosened the husk

Bagging into huge, heavy sacks

The millstones grind the oats into oats for porridge or a much finer meal.

Sacks of grain went up to the top floor where they were stored until sent, via hoppers, down to the millstones. 

There would have been plenty of these around the mill!!



Luckily this one wasn't real!!

The sights and sounds of the mill are very evocative - especially when the wheel is turning. With its quiet but steady rhythm you can easily imagine being back in time when the miller was a very important part of village life.



Visiting a corn mill doesn't necessarily sound very interesting, but with a knowledgeable guide it can really come to life! The guide we had on the day certainly did that!