Building record MAB29683 - SAVOCH WINDMILL

Remains of windmill dating from the late 18th Century.

Remains of windmill dating from the late 18th Century. At the time of the Scottish Windmills Survey (1984) it was described as the most complete conventional windmill in Scotland, as the cap, cap track, sail shaft and vertical shaft all survived. The tower is 5.5m high, tapers slightly, and is 6.6m in diameter at ground level. It is constructed of roughly squared and coursed whinstone and granite, has one door and probably had a ladder for access to the cap. A central square shaft once drove a pair of bevel gears mounted about 1m above ground level. The shaft from the lower bevel gears appear to have gone through a 0.5m square hole to drive a pump mounted outside the tower. The sail shaft and vertical shaft were geared 1-to-1. However the horizontal pump drive must have rotated at least twice the speed of the vertical shaft. The sail shaft is of cast iron and is octagonal in section, except at the two bearings. Wrapped around the lower end of the central square shaft at the time of the survey (1984) was a 2cm diameter wrought iron bar hooked at one end and twisted around the square shaft and through the bevel gear. It is said that one of the operators caught part of his clothing in the bevel gears at the cap. His colleague attempted to stop the windmill by putting a steel bar into the lower bevel gears. Instead of stopping straight away, the sails kept turning. The twisted bar speaks for itself, and the man in the cap is said to have been serious hurt. After this accident, the windmill was replaced by electric pumps. The windmill may have been used in an unsuccessful attempt to pump water from flooded ground back into the loch. The remains of the gear drive to drainage pump also survive. A watching brief was undertaken by Murray Archaeology Services in September 2007 around the base when dredging to remove silt was undertaken on behalf of RSPB. A number of mill fragments were found, including three iron objects, believed to be part of the mill mechanism, and a fourth which was part of a gearing and shaft. There were all placed either within the mill or beside it.

DONNACHIE, I L, 1966, SCOTTISH WINDMILLS: AN OUTLINE AND INVENTORY. IN PSAS 98 (1964-6) 292, p.292 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2414.

Hume, JR, 1977, Industrial Archaeology of Scotland, 107 (Bibliographic reference). SAB730.

DOUGLAS, G, 1984, SCOTTISH WINDMILLS - A SURVEY, P.20-21; ILL P.56-59 (Bibliographic reference). SAB4037.

Murray HC, JC, 2007, Strathbeg Pumping Station, Crimond, report (Bibliographic reference). SAB2991.

ARCHAEOLOGY SCOTLAND, 2008, DISCOVERY & EXCAVATION SCOTLAND, p.27 (Murray&Murray) (Bibliographic reference). SAB4029.

Record last edited

Jun 19 2024 12:20PM