Dalgarven Mill – Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume
Dalgarven Mill is near Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland and home to the Dalgarven Mill Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume. The mill has been completely restored over a number of years and is now run by the Dalgarven Mill Trust. The village of Dalgarven itself was largely destroyed by the construction of the main road. The mill is now open as a tourist attraction, interpreting local history in addition to its role as a museum of Ayrshire country life. Very few mills remain in Ayrshire and this is an example which has survived due to the foresight of the family of the last miller who saw a modern role for an ancient architectural and social traditions.
The Chairman of the Mill Trust, Mr.R.Ferguson, is the son of the last miller. The mill is run by a Trust with volunteer enthusiasts making up the Board of Trustees. The mill is not part of the National Trust or Scottish Heritage.
The Museum of Country Life
The three storey grain store has been converted to house an extensive collection of Ayrshire farming and domestic memorabilia, reflecting the self sufficiency of the pre-industrial rural community that was Dalgarven. An antique shop is housed in an old outbuilding, a cafe provides snacks and meal and the original mill on the river Garnock's edge is being developed.
Bee keeping
This was an essential part of country life and before the development of the Bee Hive by John Kerr and his octagonal Stewarton Hive, Bee Skeps were used. The bees had to be smoked in sulphur fumes to kill them so that the honey could be extracted. Bee Boles were the alcoves made to place the skeps for protection from the elements and they can still be found at old farms and walled gardens, such as those at Brodick Castle on Arran. They were extensively used to ensure as complete a pollination of fruiting plants as possible.
Costume Collection
The mill houses an extensive collection of costume and clothing from every walk of life. The exhibition area on the ground floor of the building is used to display the collection. The exhibition is changed regularly. The collection is put to other practical purposes, such as for educational visits or for open days and other special occasions.
Country Life in Days Gone By
The first and second floors of the mill show all the aspects of country life with re-constructions of interiors from Victorian times and displays of farm implements, Ayrshire Whitework , a bee skep and stand, quoits, early hoovers, washing machines, blacksmiths tools, etc.
On each floor the restored mill machinery is open to view and on the ground floor is an exhibition of the stages in the reconstruction of the mill. The exhibition shows the enormous amount of work that had to be done to bring the mill back to life. In the grounds of the mill are a number of items of interest, such as a cast-iron Milestone and various horse and tractor drawn ploughs, etc.
The History of the Dalgarven Mills
There has been a mill on this site of Groatholm since the 14th century, set up by the monks of Kilwinning Abbey. The first mill was a waulk or fulling mill producing wollen cloth. The present mill was erected in 1614 as a corn mill and rebuilt in 1880 after being damaged by fire. The Garnock waters power a 6-metre diameter breast-shot wheel that drives the French burr millstones through cast iron gearing.
The traditional methods of producing flour can be traced and the wheel turns when possible following the almost total renewal of the mill machinery and a recent (2006) replacement of the wood components of the wheel, sluice, etc.
The first ironwork introduced into a mill was at Saltoun in the year 1710.
The mill race, leat or lade was critical to the efficient working of the mill and was a specialised craft, indeed a leatwright is recorded on a grave in the Loudoun Kirk graveyard near Galston, Ayrshire.
The weir on the River Garnock is made of boulders which are carefully placed and locked together to create a natural millpond to supply a good head of water to the wheel through the lade. The weir is built on a natural dyke which runs across the Garnock at this point, its existence being carefully exploited by the monks of Kilwinning Abbey who chose the site for the mill. These dykes, bands of especially hard rock, are found at several points crossing the river and many were exploited as the basis for dams, such as also occurred at Cunninghamhead Mill on the River Annick. The course and position of most of these dykes is well known as they were a major consideration in the successful exploitation of coal in the Ayrshire coalfield.
A feature of many mills was the presence of trees or structures shading the wheel from the intense summer sun. The reason for this was that when the wheel was not turning the wood components dried out and warped, putting a great deal of stress on the whole structure, putting it out of shape and creating breaks in the buckets, etc.
On the outer edge of each bucket is a 'sacraficial board' which will break away if any object becomes wedged beneath it. This is very important as the stresses and strains set up by the wheel suddenly stopping would cause considerable damage to the various cogs and to the drive to the grinding stones themselves, which have significant mass and momentum when employed in the process of grinding.
The miller used the wheel to produce electricity back in the 1940s which was stored in liquid acid batteries. At present (2006) the Mill Trustees are looking into the possibilities of using the wheel to produce electricity to help offset the mills contribution to global warming on the basis of 'Think Global, Act Local'.
The mill building has an unusual structural feature, an alcove, designed to attract nesting owls which would then feed off and help to control the vermin which stores of cereals and other foodstuffs always attract.
Blair House is nearby, home of the Borthwick family and with a long tradition of allowing public access to its grounds. It is said to be the house with the longest continuous occupation by the same family in Scotland.
The mill history is laid out in the trust's publication - A Miller's Tale. The Life and Times of Dalgarven Mill, written by Robert Ferguson the Chairman of the Dalgarven Mill Trust.
Types of Water Mills
- 1. Gristmills - for grinding grains into flour.
- 2. Waulk or Fulling mills - used for a finishing process on cloth.
- 3. Blade mills - used for sharpening newly made blades.
- 4. Sawmills - these cut timber into planks, posts and any other required shape.
- 5. Barking mills - used for stripping bark from oak and other trees for use in tanning leather.
- 6. Spoke mills turned lumber into spokes for carriage wheels.
- 7. Cotton Mills - used for the various processes involved in making thread and cloth.
- 8. Carpet mills - used for making rugs.
- 9. Powder mills - used for making black powder or smokeless powder.
- 10. Iron Mills - used at early steel working sites.
- 11. Paper mills - used to make various grades of paper for writing on, etc.
Cup and Ring Mark Stone
A cup and ring mark stone is recorded as existing at Dalgarven by John Smith, the notable Ayrshire antiquarian. Unfortunately the exact whereabouts of the stone is unknown; however a copy has been produced and is on display in the grounds of the mill. The purpose of the cup and ring marked stones is unknown, but they may have served a genealogical purpose as a record of group interlationships, births, etc. or be related to the sites of deposits of mineral ores. The stone dates from the Neolithic or bronze age times, being as old as 4000 years. This Dalgarven example is unusual in having cups and connecting toughs, but no rings. Often up to five concentric rings are found circling the central cup.
Fossils
Fossil bearing limestone boulders are sometimes found in the river with Tree Fern roots and imprints of the trunk. These plants represent long extinct species which grew to an impressive height compared to the modern day relatives which only reach a few feet. Millions of years ago these plants thrived in a warm and hospitable climate and gave rise to much of the Scottish coal deposits.
The Miller's Tale
The Miller was an important member of the rural community and honesty was an important and valued characteristic, for many an opportunity to cheat the farmer existed and worst of all he might knowingly accept blighted seeds which would result in ergotism. When milled the ergot on the seeds is reduced to a red powder, obvious in lighter grasses but easy to miss in dark rye flour. In the Middle Ages gangrenous ergotism poisoning was known as "holy fire" or "Saint Anthony's fire". The blight, named from the cock's spur it forms on grasses, was identified and named by Denis Dodart who reported the relation between ergotized rye and bread poisoning. It has been suggested that many of the people whose accusations resulted in the 1692 Salem witch trials in Massachusetts were genuinely suffering hallucinations and other symptoms of convulsive ergotism.
Notable epidemics of ergotism, at first seen as a punishment from God, occurred up into the 19th century. Fewer outbreaks have occurred since then, because in developed countries rye is carefully monitored. Whenever there is a combination of moist weather and cool temperatures which favour the growth of the fungus that causes the ergotism.
It was not easy being a miller, for instance some farmers held the belief that it was wrong to use water artificially; that to turn water from its course was to act against God's plan (Willsher & Hunter 1978).
The symbol of a miller, such as that seen on gravestones, was the rind, the iron part that supports the upper millstone.
One epitaph to a miller reads;
"Wnder this ston interd he who 40 two zeers livd wt ws, At mil & kil right honestlie, And wt his neighbr dealt he thvs; But death in Apryl 55 Fro of the stage did him remove".
A miller, from Campsie, Dunbartonshire has recorded:
"Eternity is A wheel that turns, A wheel that turned ever, A wheel that turns And will leave turning never".
The Riverside Walk
Visitors should leave time to wander through the unspoilt landscape formed by the gently flowing River Garnock. In spring, the wild flower meadow is at its best, in summer, sit by the riverbank and watch the heron, swallows, kingfisher and other wildlife. A Community Woodland has been established and the site is open access.
The meadows are particularly rich in Pignut (Conopodium majus), a type of parsley which formed a breaktime snack for children in former times. If the plant is dug up a small potato-like structure is found which when eaten raw has a slightly nutty taste. It is available commercially for salads, etc.
Hemlock Water Dropwort grows well in the wetter areas and is best left alone as the name hemlock suggests. The large leaves of the butterburr are found in several areas and the name harkens back to the days before clingfilm or cheap paper when the leaves were used to wrap butter destined for the market. Water or Saracen's Ragwort is an introduced plant which grows along the riverside in tall stands. It is common on the Garnock and at present quite rare elsewhere. The Himalayan Balsam or policemen's helmets is another introduction, but a common one. The Giant Hogweed is beginning to make its presence felt and it also a plant which should never be handled as the sap can cause severe blistering and scaring of the skin.
The Stewarton Flower or Pink Purslane is common in wetter areas. It has white or pink flowers at this site, but closer to Stewarton it is almost always white. It seems that it was first introduced as a white variety in the Stewarton area in Victorian times and the common pink variety introduced later spread to other areas. Dalgarven it seems is on the edge of the white flower zone of dominance.
You will see that coppicing of the riverside Alder trees is still carried out. Alders grow well in wet soils and are specially adapted for the low nutrient conditions through having large root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria which enrich the soil in the same way as clover plants and other legumes.
The many hedgerow trees in the vicinity of the mill were not planted by farmers for 'visual effect', they were crops and the wood was used for building, fencing. The miller needed beech or hornbeam wood for mill machinery, in particular the cogs on the drive wheels from the waterwheel.
It is not generally appreciated how much the Ayrshire landscape has changed its character over the last few hundred years, for even in the 1760-70 Statistical Account it is stated that "there was no such thing to be seen as trees or hedges in the parish; all was naked and open".
Countryside Walks and the Sustrans Cyclepath
A series of leaflets describing walks from the mill is available at a nominal fee. The Sustrans Cyclepath from Irvine and Largs to Glasgow runs close nearby and cyclists often drop in for refreshment and a look around before heading up along the old Lochwinnoch railway line to Johnstone, Glasgow or Kilmacolm.
Geocaching
The popular pastime of Geocaching is represented on the nature walk by a hidden cache which contains a log book for your comments and a 'take something and leave something choice'. You will need to buy a GPS to fully take part and then just 'log on' to the Geocache website and enjoy visiting interesting and usually rural locations.
Thirlage and the Mills of Ayrshire
Thirlage was the feudal law by which the laird could force all those farmers living on his lands to bring their grain to his mill to be ground. Additionally they had to carry out repairs on the mill, maintain the lade and weir as well as conveying new millstones to the site. It is said that the width of the first roads was determined by the requirements of two people on either side of a grindstone with a wood axle (Ferguson 2005).
The Thirlage Law was repealed in 1779 (Ferguson 2005) and after this many mills fell out of use as competition and unsubsidised running costs took their toll. This may explain why so many mills went out of use as deduced from comparing Armstrong's 1775 map with the 1885 OS map.
For example Lambroch Mill on the River Annick served Lambroughton and apart from the weir and some other indications, it has entirely vanished. Crevoch Mill on the riverulet the Glazert, near Chapeltoun, also on the outskirts of Stewarton, was the site of a corn Mill and associated miller's dwelling, byre, etc. as far back as 1678. This old cornmill mill was part of the Barony of Crevoch and lay in the portion which was called Crivoch-Lindsay. It was a substantial building, however it was also out of use and entirely ruinous by 1885.
References
- Armstrong and Son. Engraved by S.Pyle (1775). A New Map of Ayr Shire comprehending Kyle, Cunningham and Carrick.
- Ferguson, Robert (2005). A Miller's Tale. The Life and Times of Dalgarven Mill. ISBN 0-9550935.
- Morris, Ronald W B (I967-68). The Cup-and-Ring Marks and Similar Sculptured of Scotland :a Survey of the Southern Counties, Part II. Proc Soc Antiq Scot, Vol.100. P.47
- Smith, John (1895). Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. Pub. Elliot Stock. p.85
- Willsher, Betty and Hunter, Doreen (1978). Stones, A Guide to Some Remarkable 18th. Century Gravestones. ISBN 0-903937-36-0.