Document record MAB61144 - THE INCH, BRECHIN

Site of a bleachworks and paper mill complex shown on historic OS maps.

Site of a bleachworks and paper mill complex shown on historic OS maps. The 1st edition shows the paper mill (Meikle Mill) served by a wide lade from the north. A washing house lies alongside the north end of this lade with a bleaching green to its west. On the northeast side of the lade, is a bleachworks through which another lade runs. Both works had been substantially enlarged by the time of the 2nd edition map. The washhouse is now annotated as a Public Baths and Washing House. A watching brief was carried out by AOC Archaeology in January-February 2015 during flood alleviation works in the area. The watching brief recorded a number of features or the paper mill, these generally fragmentary, but providing an overview of the mill buildings which had occupied the site. They included a network of interior and exterior stone walls and red brick, surfaces of rooms, yards and walkways including a cobbled path. Also uncovered was the large mill lade near the centre of the site, circa 1.2m to 1.9m wide and lined on each side by worked stone kerbs wit carved recesses and iron fixings for machinery. Two test pits dug to assess the depth of surviving features showed that these extended to over 1m in depth. Photographic recording of an old mooring area on the river side, was also carried out although little of the original structure remains visible. Excavation at the east end of the area, on a modern play park, recorded no archaeological remains probably as a result of ground reduction during construction of the play park. The area of the Inch is documented as the site of the medieval Meikle Mill but it is likely that remains of that date were swept away by the 19th century development.

AOC ARCHAEOLOGY, 2015, BRECHIN FLOOD PREVENTION SCHEME, BRECHIN, ANGUS: ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF REPORT, WB report (Bibliographic reference). SAB6567.

Record last edited

May 27 2024 3:05PM