South Mill, Scalan, Braes of Glenlivet

South Mill, Scalan, Braes of Glenlivet

The South Mill at Scalan is an early 20th century single-storey mill and byre, rectangular in plan and built on two levels, with long northeast and southwest elevations. The south end, which housed the mill, is slightly taller than the longer north end, which served as the byre. The building is constructed in rubble with harl pointing. The roof has been replaced in corrugated iron and fitted with ventilators. At the south end of the southwest elevation there is an undershot cast iron mill wheel served by a concrete lade.

Interior

When inspected in 2016, the interior contained a free-standing threshing machine, probably also dating from the early 20th century, bearing the label "William Alexander, Ribrae, Turriff, millwright and engineer." The former byre at the north end retains its timber stalls with troughs and a cobbled floor.

The waterwheel is more precisely described as a breastshot "start and awe" waterwheel. "Start" refers to a piece of wood secured in and projecting from the rim, onto which the "awe" — the wooden float or paddle — was attached at an angle of 40 to 45 degrees. The launder fed water directly onto these paddles at the mid-point of the wheel, driving it in a clockwise direction. The surviving portion of the lade and the launder feeding the wheel are of concrete. The elevated section of the lade has not survived; an earlier listing record from 1987 records that this was originally of timber.

Dating and Historical Development

The precise date of construction is not known. The building does not appear on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1869), nor on the second edition (surveyed 1900). Graffiti on the interior timberwork includes a date of 1918, the earliest recorded, suggesting the mill was probably built between 1900 and 1918. An earlier listing record from 1972 dated both mill buildings at Scalan to the early 19th century, possibly incorporating earlier fabric, but the cartographic evidence does not support this.

The first edition Ordnance Survey map shows the seminary with a number of small outbuildings to the north and south, and a pair of rectangular-plan buildings on the opposite side of the Crombie Water — a stream approximately 70 metres to the west — but the South Mill itself is not among them.

Significance and Setting

The South Mill is an important component of a remote group of domestic and agricultural buildings in the upper moorland valley of the Braes of Glenlivet, a setting that has remained largely unchanged since the early 20th century. Together with the Former Roman Catholic Seminary (listed separately at category A) and the North Mill (also listed separately), it forms an outstanding group that documents the historical, social and agricultural development of Scalan from the 18th century to the early 20th century.

Scalan is of outstanding historical significance because of the critical role it played in preserving Roman Catholic faith in Scotland during the 18th century. Following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, Roman Catholicism was outlawed and its practice was theoretically punishable by deportation. The Braes of Glenlivet were sufficiently isolated and remote to shelter Catholics from persecution. The seminary was founded by Bishop James Gordon in 1716, and the present seminary building dates from 1767. Over its existence the seminary trained around 100 Catholic priests and also served as an administrative centre for the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Farming was central to the seminary's survival during this period of persecution and constant harassment. Roy's Military Survey of 1747–55 depicts rig and furrow cultivation patterns around Scalan, confirming that farming took place there. Contemporary sources suggest that meal was imported to Scalan, though it is thought that some later threshing was also carried out on site, with an early threshing machine possibly used both for the seminary's own survival and to share cereal foods with the wider community.

The seminary closed in 1799 when the repeal of the Penal Laws made it feasible to establish a larger and more visible institution elsewhere. It transferred first to Aquhorthies near Inverurie in 1799, then to Blairs College near Aberdeen in 1829. It is recorded that the priests took their farming skills with them to both locations. After 1799, the seminary building became a farmhouse. The Ordnance Survey Name Book of 1867–69 describes Scalan as "a commodious dwelling house, with some cottar houses offices, garden, and farm attached — the property of the Duke of Richmond. This place was some seventy years ago, a popish Seminary but is now converted into a farm steading."

Architecture and Materials

The elongated rectangular plan and rubble construction of the South Mill are typical of rural mill buildings of this period, and its design is not architecturally innovative for its date, being similar in character to early 19th century mills. The building has been altered through the replacement of its roofing material and the addition of ventilators. The informal arrangement of the farm buildings at Scalan is typical of pre-industrialised 19th century farm steadings in Morayshire, where such arrangements persisted later into the 19th century than in other parts of Scotland.

The building materials are local to Scalan, including limestone and Tomintoul slates. The New Statistical Account notes that limestone was quarried and used for agricultural purposes in the area, with lime kilns recorded on almost every farm using peat as fuel. A lime kiln at Scalan is marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey map. Given the remote location of Scalan, which would have made transporting stone both difficult and expensive, it is likely that this locally sourced stone was also used in the construction and repair of its buildings.

The survival of the waterwheel, lade, threshing machine, and byre fittings means that the building's original function is clearly legible. Farm buildings that retain their machinery and original fixtures are becoming increasingly rare across Scotland. The threshing machine here is a significant comparative with the earlier example in the nearby North Mill, and this pair of threshing machines is considered very rare.

The listing category was changed from B to C on 9 November 1987, then revised back to B with an updated listing record in 2016. The building was previously listed under the name "Braes of Glenlivet, Scalan, South Steading with Mill Wheel."