Attribution: not recorded or unknown

The Old Meal Mill at Munlochy

The Old Mill at Munlochy.

The Old Meal Mill in Munlochy village. Attribution: unknown

The burn which supplied the salt mill from Munlochy Bay.

The burn which supplied the tidal mill from Munlochy Bay. Attribution: unknown

Salt Water Mill

A millstone from the salt mill at Munlochy (tidal).

An undressed millstone intended for use at the salt water mill at Munlochy (tidal). Attribution: unknown

The possible site of the sluice of one of the two salt mills in Munlochy Bay.

The possible site of the sluice of one of the two tidal mills in Munlochy Bay. Attribution: unknown

Salt Water Mill

The mill was researched during an ARCH Knockbain Heritage Project.

On the OS 1st edition 25″ map a building or a complex of two buildings is shown to the east of Littlemill Bridge.

Evidence shows an  area named ‘Muileann an t-sail’, (salt-water mill) could indicate the presence of a tidal mill at Slagacharn. Slagacharn (now called Bayhead)  at the head of the bay, can be found on the 2nd edition OS map it is at NH 65608 52696. Additionally the name of the bridge and the position of the buildings indicate  a possible tidal inlet for a mill with added embankments, which may relate to it. 

The diaries of Bishop Forbes in 1765, talks of two mills in the area suggesting  a second tidal mill. Following this, a lease  granted in 1812 to miller Andrew Provost by Mackenzie of Kilcoy, mentions that the lease will expire when the proposed new road across the head of the bay is made. Indicating the road would interfere with the tides and prevent the mill from grinding.

The old road would have gone past Easter Taeweg suggesting  the miller moving closer to Tore. Around this time, Andrew Provost also changed his name to Mackintosh, an it is believed the family were Hugenots. 

There has been extensive draining work done over the years and the lower fields of Munlochy Mains are reliant on one way drains to keep them from being flooded. Information from ‘The Life and Journals of Bishop Robert Forbes of Ross 1708-1775’.

Attribution: Alasdair Cameron and Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH)

Please submit your comment

Do you have any more information about any of the content on this page.

Your comments are always welcome: