Internal Workings And Lade, Milton Mill Including Water Wheel, Milton Grove, Whins Of Milton

Milton Mill is the best preserved example of a mid-19th century corn mill surviving in the Stirling area. It occupies a historically significant location within a district characterised by its mills and retains most of its original internal workings, including the internal water wheel and gearings.

The building comprises a 3-storey rectangular corn mill with an adjoining 2-storey threshing mill, possibly of earlier date. A small lean-to chaff store adjoins the principal south-east elevation, with a single-storey husk store adjoining to the rear. The mill is powered by a lade running from the north-west, with water sourced from the nearby Bannock Burn. Construction is of squared, tooled rubble with squared rubble surrounds and polished margins to openings. The sides and rear of the threshing mill are built from much smaller rubble stone with thick mortar courses. Late 20th century corrugated-iron farm buildings now surround the mill to the south-west and north-west.

The external fabric has undergone very few changes. The principal south-east elevation features a central doorway to the larger corn mill with a first-floor winnowing door directly above. A doorway formerly sat to the left of this central bay, now replaced by a late 20th century large sliding door. The ground floor has a window to the right, with a single first-floor window in the outer bay. The meeting point between the main mill and threshing mill is obscured by a single-storey lean-to chaff store adjoining at right angles, possibly a later addition. This lean-to has a corrugated iron roof (previously slated) with doorways to both returns, the left doorway now blocked. The threshing mill is of 2 bays, with a doorway and upper wind door to the left bay and windows to ground and first-floor levels of the right bay. Both sides of the mill are gabled with stone skews. A single wind door occurs in the upper north-east gable. The rear is mostly obscured by 20th century additions, with only two openings at first-floor level of the main corn mill building. A single-storey, pended-roof husk store sits off-centre left at ground floor, adjoining at right angles. The mill lade enters to the immediate left of the husk store, formerly through a sluice gate (now partially removed) and a rubble arched opening in the rear wall of the threshing mill. The tooled stone lade sits just below the eaves level of the husk store owing to ground-level changes.

The interior has remained largely unaltered since production ceased in the 1970s, though the drying kiln on the left side of the corn mill has been removed, as has the threshing machinery. The remaining working machinery is thought to date from the early 20th century. In the threshing mill, a cast-iron and timber water wheel remains in place at ground-floor level, attached to the wall dividing it from the corn mill and providing power for both mills. Machinery formerly at first-floor level has been removed. In the corn mill, the water wheel gearing survives in place (all cast-iron except the spur wheel, which is cast-iron with wooden teeth), linked through the dividing wall to the wheel. Also at ground floor are two wooden grain elevators and two hoppers. At first-floor level, two millstones remain, with a third removed. The two adjacent stones were for shelling grain, while the third was a burrstone with a plaque inscribed "Smiths of Edinburgh". Also at first-floor level is the bevel gear for the threshing mill, feeding through the dividing wall to a cast-iron drive gear linking to ground floor. At second-floor level, the kiln drying floor has been replaced by a wooden floor, and sack-hoist gearing survives in the roof space. Fixed wooden ladder steps provide circulation. The floor structure comprises a central row of wooden columns with carved pad heads supporting large exposed timber beams running the length of both mill buildings, with later 20th century timber sheet flooring.

The mill is constructed of random rubble, some squared, heavily pointed in places, with large squared rubble and long and short quoins. Squared rubble surrounds with polished margins frame openings; rubble lintels and cills are used throughout. Stone skews feature on the gables. Windows are of random replacement types, some timber sash and case. Cast-iron skylights occur in the roofs. Doors are timber boarded, with narrow double doors for wind doors and a later timber boarded sliding door to the corn mill. The pitched roofs are covered in grey slate and fitted with cast-iron rainwater goods.