41975: Abhainn Eallaidh, Laxay – Horizontal mills
Information from a site visit by Chris Burgess, Archaeologist on 2 September 2006
Located south of the main road, immediately to the east of Laxay are the fragmentary remains of a number of large horizontal or ‘Norse’ type mills and their associated water works.
The size of these remains and the complexity of the water-work (leats, linking races and possible ponds) suggests that the mills are relatively recent in date, perhaps having their origins in the mid 19th Century and ‘Shah’ Munroe’s attempts to centralise milling and the revenue from the processes involved.
The best surviving structure is found on the shore at the mouth of the Abhainn Eallaidh where is issues into Loch Erisort. At this point the water used to drive this mill issues back into the stream. Upstream however the water to drive the other two mills (at least) in the group seems not to have been closely associated with stream coming instead it appears from some source to the north-west, possibly a large, man-made pond located in the area of NB 3410 2180. This pond (if it existed) was presumably fed by a canalised channel that drew water off the Abhainn Eallaidh somewhere to the north.
The remains of the other two? surviving mills in the group are considerably less well preserved than the one at the shore and are visible only as grassed piles of earch, suggesting that their structural stone has been ‘robbed’ (removed) for use in other localised building works.
Record Location
Details
- Record Type:
- Historical or Archaeological Site
- Type Of Site:
- Mill
- Record Maintained by:
- CECL
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