Scotsmill

By

David E. King

Scottmill

My story is mainly about the history and gathering of information on flour mills, particularly Scotsmill. On looking around Inverkeithing, one can see Rosebery House, Thomson House and Providence House, which have histories going back hundreds of years.however I chose Scotsmill as my project as its  history goes back even further.

At one time there was a windmill in Inverkeithing in a place called Windmill Acres. This was in the Hillfield estate, above Chapel Place. This may have been the start of flour mills, before water mills came into use, or it may have been for pumping water.

Prior to the 15th.Century, there was a flour mill, water driven, at the bottom end of King Street, opposite the Tannery. This then became the site of the Whitehouse and later the Inverkeithing Ex-Servicemen’s Club. This building has recently been demolished to make way for future development. King Street was called  “Mill Row” at the time of the water mill. The walls and partly destroyed water wheel were still in existence in the 1920’s. James Crow (Farmer and     Contractor) took over part of the mill building as a     potato store. James Crow was the grandfather of  Ex-Provost Colin Morris Senior (J.P.)

Caldsyde was the residence of the Scott family and they owned the Mill of Caldsyde, which was in existence before 1528. This probably gives us the origin of the name “Scotsmill”. It has been known as this since 1575, when William Thomson was the miller, and it continued to be in operation until 1913

Scotsmill is situated in the valley to the north of the Burgh of Inverkeithing and near Hillend. The ruins of the mill can be seen from the Inverkeithing to Hillend road, just beyond the High School.

I began my investigation by exploring the Scotsmill ruins, taking measurements of walls and   levels etc. These, when collated, gave me a very good idea of how the mill looked and operated and I was then able to draw up a plan of the mill. This plan and a quite modern photograph have helped me to produce a model, which gives a good impression of the mill as it was. Standing on the grounds of the ruins, one can look out at the surrounding countryside and some farms, which were possibly involved in supplying grain to Scotsmill. Those which still exist today are The Dales, Balbougie, Spencerfield, Belleknowes and  Letham.. There may have been several more such as Seafield and Boreland, in years gone by.

If one walks northwards from the ruins one reaches the Loan, which was a cart track leading, via an outlet near the Dales Farm, on to the Old North Road. I walked about a quarter of a mile along the Loan as far as the Keithing Burn. I could not understand  why the mill had not been built on this burn, but have since come up with a possible explanation. There could have been a very fast flow of water, and this could have caused  damage to any foundations laid here. Another explanation could be that the water was not at a suitable level to drive the mill wheel

With Scotsmill situated where it is, it meant   water had to be supplied  from a different source in order to operate the wheel. A Lead, starting at the  bottom of Hillend Cemetery had to be excavated to channel the water along. According to an old map, there was a weir here and the Lead was dug out back into the Keithing Burn, at this spot. A stone wall is visible    halfway into the burn and this was built to divert water towards the mill. This Lead then goes under a bridge, which carries the Fordell to Hillend road. It then travels along between a field and the present Market Garden property. After that it passes under another bridge carrying the Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh railway line and then heads down to what was a dam or a pond at    Scotsmill. An old map indicates an outlet or overflow at this point, running back northwards, into the Keithing Burn. The Lead then came along a trough at the rear of the miller’s house, onto the wheel and then dropped into a small pond. The outlet from this was excavated for about a mile westwards towards Burnside and back into the Keithing burn. This came out near Burnside Brickworks or at the rear of King’s Terrace, which is where the Tractor Shovels Yard was situated. This outlet track is still clearly visible. The Lead that fed the mill had to be altered due to the building of the main railway line, and old maps prove this. Access to the mill was  either from the Old North Road or from Spencerfield Farm Road.

The South gable faces the Hillend to Inverkeithing road and Spencerfield farm. The 16 to 18 foot wooden mill wheel was attached to this wall. After clearing some   ruins, bushes and undergrowth, I came across an arch and then, as I dug down further, I discovered a hole. This was where the axle of the wheel went. The arch supported a 600mm. (2ft.) wide wall but the wall below was only 300mm. (1ft.) wide The reason for the axle  being in the thinner wall is that it was easier to cut through the narrower wall for access for repair. The old photograph I have shows three windows in the South  gable. Beyond this wall is a space of  1200mm. (4ft.), which contained the mill wheel. Another wall beyond that was 1075mm. (3ft.7ins.) wide and on this rested the outer axle of the wheel. To the rear of the wheel were steps, which provided access for opening the sluice gate to let the water flow through from the trough to the wheel.

The East wall looks toward Hillend. As this wall has very little stone, and what is there is buried under rubble, it has not yielded much information for my    project. For details, I have had to refer to the old photograph. I believe that there was a door and a window in this wall. There seems to have been a small storeroom attached here and I think this was for grain. This wall may have been the front of the mill. If I could have found the lintel with the date on it this would have confirmed my theory.

To the right, East Wall with Quoins and Skew Stone, To the left, East Wall of the Mill

With Quions and a different design Skew Stone and the North Gable of the Mill

The West wall faces in the direction of Burnside. I found evidence of doors and of the store, which was attached to this wall. This store had a Hip Roof, made of Pan Tiles and this proves it to be older than the store on the East wall, which had a slate roof. The difference between the two roofs is very obvious from the photograph. The openings to both stores are 2100mm.(7ft.) in width and there is evidence of a door in the ruins.

The Grain Drying Store was a more modern addition to the mill, when renovations took place. The original mill had the four corners marked by Quoins, which are corner stones. The new grain store had only two walls and a gable with Quoins at each end. If it had been part of the original building the Quoins would have tied in properly. Looking at the east and west walls of the mill, one can see that the Quoins had a Risbond Joint continuing to the roof. The grain-drying store is made from sandstone of a different type and the skew stone on the store is different to that on the mill. There was both an upper and lower floor for storing the grain

Model of Scotsmill built by  David E. King

The photograph shows these floors and a large vent on the roof. This vent, shaped like a fish, would be turned into the wind to direct through the store. The ruins of the store indicate doors and windows, both back and front, and of course there is the hole in the wall, which I mentioned earlier. This was where the chute ran through to the mill. The old grain store was situated to the north of the mill and consisted of two sheds. One was 3600mm. (12ft.) in length and the other 5400mm.(18ft.) They were both 3600mm.(12ft.) wide, and I estimate, 2400mm.(8ft.) high, with a Hip Roof of Pan Tiles.

The Dam was probably known, in early years, as the millpond. The Cast was mainly a soakaway from the fields but the Paper Mill decided to use it to supply their reservoir. This was at the rear of Boreland Farm, which was near Inverkeithing Railway Station. The Cast was   excavated and concrete columns were installed for a sluice gate.  Concrete was laid along the sides to raise the water level so that it came along the Cast to serve the reservoir. My levels show that the Cast, at this present day, is higher than the level of the Dam water. The Burnside area is very low and this leads to flooding   during times of heavy rainfall.

The Mill and Store Rooms

I wish to pass on my heartfelt thanks to those people who were involved in helping me with my  investigation. My good friend, the late Mr. William Ogilvie, supported me by taking photographs. Ex-Provost Colin Morris Senior (J. P.) provided     invaluable information on the “good old days”.  Mr. Chris Cunningham helped by printing this item.

David E. King