Old Corn Mill, Lintrathen

An early 18th century, L-plan former cornmill with a single storey principal elevation and two and a half storey basement to the rear built on steeply sloping ground. It has a keystone on the sluice by the waterwheel dated 1706 and a pedimented entrance door piece on the west elevation dated 1860. It is set within the small hamlet of Bridgend of Lintrathen to the north of the Clint Law Hill and to the east of the Loch of Lintrathen.

The principal (west) elevation is single storey, symmetrical with a raised central gablet stone entrance doorway and piended slate roof, all set below the road level. The contrasting, tall rear (east) elevation drops down three storeys and a semi basement to the lower ground level. The mill is built in rubble with various sandstone dressings and it has a slate roof with cast-iron rainwater goods. There is a rubble chimney to the south gable and the timber windows have various glazing patterns.

The interior retains the main elements of the mill machinery within the living space. The iron and timber water wheel is in situ within a separate wheelhouse room accessed externally through a door on the north gable. Many of the interior walls are rough plastered onto stone and there are some later 20th century partitions to form living accommodation.

Historical Background

According to a Courier newspaper article from 2016 there is a keystone on the waterwheel sluice dated 1706. Roy's Map of 1747 records a group of buildings on the site named as 'Kirk of Lintrathen' including an L-plan building in the location of the mill. In 1845 the Statistical Account of Scotland recorded Lintrathen Parish and noted 'the village houses are very ruinous; but it is likely they will soon be rebuilt'. The mill has a date stone of 1860 which suggests the mill was rebuilt around that time.

The mill is shown in its current L-plan footprint on the first edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1861 and marked as the corn mill. The Ordnance Survey Name Book of the same time describes the buildings at 'Bridgend of Linthrathen' as "a farmhouse and offices, also to a Public house; smithy; a corn Mill, a small grocer's shop and 3 dwelling houses" and the map shows the village also included a church, manse, two schools, several cottages, a smithy, a farm steading and around eight dwellings. The village was truncated in the later 19th century by the construction of a reservoir to the west of the mill.

The mill is thought to have been working up until the earlier 20th century after which it was unused for several decades. In 1987 planning permission was granted to convert the mill to two dwellings (a small upper floor cottage and a separate house in the lower two floors). In 2002 the two dwellings were combined to create the current house.