Upper Mill, Barry

Upper Mill is a rare survival of a three-storey, irregular L-shaped, water-powered working meal mill, rebuilt in 1814. An earlier kiln exists on the site, with a lean-to annex added in the 1930s, the kiln lowered around 1940, and a conservation programme undertaken between 1988 and 1992. The mill retains an outstanding Angus-type semicircular kiln (now lowered), an enclosed iron and wood overshot wheel, and a remarkable interior still in use. It is situated in a picturesque rural setting, featuring a mill dam fed by the Barry Burn and a lade to the northwest, with a miller’s cottage to the southwest.

The building is constructed of snecked red sandstone rubble with roughly squared dressings, some tooled, along with a small red brick extension. The symmetrical, two-storey, three-bay entrance elevation faces northwest, incorporating a single-storey, full-width lean-to range with a door. A conical-roofed, two-storey semicircular kiln is situated at the northeast, featuring blocked openings and a ventilator of the ‘auld wife’ type. A wheel housing is set within the gabled southwest elevation, while the southeast elevation rises to three storeys.

Small-pane glazing is found in timber fixed and sash and case windows. The roof is covered with Angus stone slates, pitched and piended in style.

The mill's interior workings are remarkably well-preserved across the lower ground (meal) floor, the ground (milling or stone) floor, and the first (hopper or bin) floor. It includes two pairs of millstones, one for shelling and the other a milling pair comprising segments of French burr stone, crafted by Messrs J Smith & Son, Edinburgh. Other machinery present includes fanners, elevators, sieves, and a sack hoist, all powered by the same water source.

The semicircular kiln has a diameter of 4.4 metres, featuring a small brick-fronted fire at the lower ground level, timber steps providing access to the kiln floor at ground level, and three kiln shutes (one in use) at the first floor. Some areas have been patched with brick and metal, and a drying platform is present. The evidence suggests the kiln wallhead has been lowered.

The overshot water wheel has a diameter of 4.7 metres and 30 wooden buckets. The pit wheel was manufactured by Messrs Thomson, Son & Co of Douglas Foundry, Dundee, possibly in 1881. The teeth of other main gears are composed of alternating metal and beechwood. The current wallhead of the wheel housing is constructed of reinforced concrete.

The Miller’s Cottage is a single-storey, three-bay, slated, stone cottage, with a lower two-bay extension. The original cottage features a centre timber door with a fanlight, flanked by timber sash and case windows with a 12-pane glazing pattern.