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Summary

Description

Dated 1719. Expansion in 1795 and circa 1835. Early 18th century 2-storey and basement, 2-bay, L-plan mill building with later shallow pitched section to rear and pitched roofed former wheelhouse adjoining basement level of angled S gable. Irregular fenestration pattern. Adjoining 6-bay, symmetrical, paired former cottages with Gothic pointed windows and small square windows under eaves. Predominantly ashlar to front and gable of main mill section with painted finish to principal elevation. Rubble walls with rough hewn ashlars quoins and window surrounds elsewhere. Exterior steps to basement area with broad stone archway with date inscribed 'W M 1719'. Projecting cills to upper floor windows and eaves course to former cottages.

12-, 4-, and 6-pane glazing in timber sash and case windows. Multi-pane glazed doors. Small graded grey slate roof with small cast-iron rooflights. Ashlar coped skews. Short rubble stacks with rough ashlar quoins, flat copes and clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: modernised to form dwelling 1980. 2 mill stones sunken in the upper floor of the main living space. Exposed timber posts and beams surviving amongst late 20th century partitions.

RETAINING WALL, BOUNDARY WALLS AND ENTRANCE GATEPIERS: massive ashlar coped rubble retaining wall to roadway ending in one large rounded ashlar entrance gatepier to mill boundary. Secondary pair of gatepiers to S of former path of the mill lade.

Statement of Special Interest

An early example of a grain mill surviving in good condition in a characterful setting with significant boundary walls and gatepiers contributing to historic streetscape and grouping with other listed buildings in the immediate area. The mill is significant historically to the region as the first and main grain mill to serve Lanark Burgh from 1795 onwards. The current building structure clearly evidences the changes in its development and improvements over the years as a working mill. The two former cottages have some good architectural detailing with the pointed arch windows which are an unusual detail for this type of industrial building. The building is sited by the Mouse Water previously known as the 'Moufs' and then 'Mouss'.

The Mill forms a strong grouping with the adjacent 'Sorisdale House', Mousemill Bridge and Mousemill House which are all listed separately. Sorisdale House (Formerly Orchard Dell) also has characterful pointed arched windows as evident in the mill.

Historically Mousemill was the town mill for the Royal Borough of Lanark, its first incarnation however is thought to have been on the South side of the river. By 1795 the mill was in a poor state and the town council decided to make improvements and commissioned Mr Meikle of Dunbar. Meikle added a storey to the main mill to bring in new machinery to update the building to mill wheat and corn, a process not before achieved in the Lanark area. A fire then destroyed the contents in 1810 however the buildings insurance cover of £250 allowed for another refurbishment by James Paterson the Millwright at Carmichael Mill.

William Cassells Jack added the single storey cottages and former stable during his tenancy of 1831-1851. The pointed gothic windows may have been installed in reference the Chapellands to the north where local folklore says there was a medieval monastery. The treatment of the dressed stone around the windows and doors of this section suggests that the cottages would have been harled when built.

The earliest part of the building was the south end which was originally a storey lower; the profile of earlier rooflines can be seen in the south gable. There was also another section to the building projecting to the east of the south gable to form an L-plan which is thought to have been demolished after the late 19th century.

The mill workings ceased in the 20th century and the building was disused for a time before being converted to residential use as a single dwelling in 1980.

List description and statutory address updated 2011.

References

Bibliography

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