Building record MAB27053 - DAVIDSON'S MILL, ABERDEEN

Mugiemoss House, and paper mills established in 1811 by Charles Davidson, originally for fulling cloth, flax and grinding fermented tobacco into snuff.

Mugiemoss House, and paper mills established in 1811 by Charles Davidson, originally for fulling cloth, flax and grinding fermented tobacco into snuff. Papermaking was begun probably in 1821 and was soon the dominant use. A fire in 1853 destroyed a 3-storey building used for production of pulp and disrupted production for several months. in the middle of the 19th century George Davidson (one of Charles's sons) patented an idea for making block bottom paper bags and by 1875 Davidsons were the largest makers of paper bags in the world. At the end of the 19th century wood pulp took over from rags as the main material for paper production. No. 2 machine was installed to cope with demand and in 1908 a machine to make machine glazed papers was added. No.1 machine was closed in the 1930s having operated for around 100 years. No. 2 machine was closed in the 1970s. No 4 machine dry end was completely rebuilt in 1951 to add more drying capacity. There were further additions and replacements to machinery in the 20th century. The mill closed in 2005. Standing building recording of all the remaining buildings and lades, and trial trenching was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in 2012 ahead of proposed development of the site. Buildings included Mugiemoss House, a water purification and pumping plant, boiler house, chimney, sports club, and Ellangowan Cottage. Mugiemoss House is a single bay late 19th century house, harled with granite facings, and with 20th century extensions. In the late 20th century this building was refitted for use as the reception and offices for the mill. A trial trenching evaluation was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in February to April 2012 ahead of proposed development. Twenty-four trenches in the Phase 1 area of the site revealed field drains but no significant archaeological features or artefacts. Two trenches excavated within the buildings of the old mill produced evidence that the area had been increased in height by at least 1.5m using ash and rubble. One revealed a surface constructed of bricks which included some marked 'Dykehead/Bonnybridge' (a brickworks in operation between circa. 1925 and 1950), below which was a stone cobble surface, for which there was no dating evidence but which is likely to be 19th century in date. Below this was an ash layer which is likely to have come from the earliest mill workings, deposited here to raise the level of the ground to above the water table. A watching brief was carried out by Cameron Archaeology in June 2016 in the northern part of the site, to examine the exposed land surface below recently the demolished industrial area. No archaeological features or artefacts were found, and no signs were visible of the former Davidson's Mill. However, substantial erosion of along the River Don resulting from flooding in the winter of 2015-16 revealed a section of brick drainage tunnel (NJ 90343 10039) and several lower sections of coarse stone walling, thought to be remnants of Davidon's Mill.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, DAVIDSON'S MILL, MUGIEMOSS ROAD, ABERDEEN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND STANDING BUILDING SURVEY, SBS and evaluation (Bibliographic reference). SAB6807.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2012, DAVIDSON'S MILL, MUGIEMOSS ROAD, ABERDEEN: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB6805.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2013, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 13, 2012, p. 11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB5487.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, A REPORT ON A WATCHING BRIEF FORMER DAVIDSON'S MILL, MUGIEMOSS ROAD, BUCKSBURN, ABERDEEN, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB6857.

CAMERON ARCHAEOLOGY, 2016, FORMER DAVIDSON'S MILL, MUGIEMOSS ROAD, BUCKSBURN, ABERDEEN: WRITTEN SCHEME OF INVESTIGATION, WSI (Bibliographic reference). SAB6856.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2017, DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION IN SCOTLAND, NEW SERIES, VOLUME 17, 2016, p.11 (Bibliographic reference). SAB6497.

Oct 2 2022 , 13 images, 13 images (Ground Photograph). SAB36211.

Oct 16 2022 , 1 image, 1 image (Ground Photograph). SAB36212.

Record last edited

Oct 17 2022 11:37AM