Community Consultation on the Renovation of the Old Mill at Bunessan
romhc Sunday, 9 June 2024
The Old Mill and the neighbouring Millbrae Cottage at Bunessan were acquired by the Ross of Mull Historical Centre in 2001. Millbrae Cottage was opened in 2009 as a small museum, an office and an archive storage space and has been open to the public since then. The Old Mill is a ruinous shell and has become increasingly fragile over the last 20 years. It is now at a stage where it needs consolidation work to ensure it is safe enough for activities in and around Millbrae Cottage to continue.
While the urgent repair works are essential, The Ross of Mull Historical Centre would like to go further and repair the building fully with a new use so it can be at the heart of the community once again.
Community Consultation
As a first stage, the Centre has undertaken a Community Consultation to gauge whether there is community support for the venture. The survey was accessed either online or by paper copy. There was also a drop-in session for the community to ask questions and find out more. The survey is now closed and the results will be communicated soon.
A Brief History of the Mill
The walls that can be seen today are the remains of a T-plan two-storey water mill that was last in operation before the First World War. Prior to this date, grain, that is oats, barley and corn, had been ground on this site for hundreds of years.
There is evidence of an earlier 18th century single-storey mill on the same site. Records show the mill building was altered in 1830 when improvements were being made to the general estate management of the wider Argyll Estate on Mull. In its current form, the building comprises space for grinding machinery at the front and a drain-drying kiln at the rear.
The power was provided via a mill lade, that diverted water from the burn, giving a 20 foot head of water to power the over-shot water-wheel. Traces of the lade can still be seen running alongside the road above the mill to Linne a Dhuais. Unfortunately the line of the lade was blocked by the construction of the new road and it is not currently thought to be feasible to reinstate the supply.
