Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Dated 1710. 2 storey and attic, 3 bay, rectangular plan traditional mill house. Random rubble with droved dressings. Vertical quoins; chamfered reveals.

SE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: near symmetrical; architraved lugged doorway surmounted with pediment enclosing tooled cartouche dated "1710" to centre of ground floor; 2 leaf boarded timber door. Windows to flanking bays. 3 windows to centre of 1st floor; windows to flanking bays.

NE ELEVATION: slightly asymmetrical; stone roofed ingleneuk to centre of ground with shouldered chimney breast above. Small single pane window to centre at ground, window to left and right returns. Lean to addition to right with corrugated roof and boarded timber door to right return. 2 pane window off centre to left of gablehead.

NW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 5 bay; small vertical window to centre of ground with 4 pane window to 1st floor above; horizontal paned window to flanking bay to left of ground; traditional replacement windows to flanking bay to right and outer right of ground; window with timber lintel to outer left of ground; window off centre to right of outer right bay of 1st floor. Irregular rooflights.

SW ELEVATION: asymmetrical; 2 bay; 2 pane replacement window with top hopper to bay to left of ground; window to right of ground; regular fenestration to right bay of 1st and attic floors. Moulded eaves course runs along base of stack.

Predominantly 12 pane timber sash and case windows. Graded purple grey slate roof with lead ridge; stone skews with moulded skew putts; tooled, coped gablehead stacks with circular cans. Cast iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: not seen 1998.

OUTBUILDINGS: single storey, single bay, random rubble garage to SW of house; 2 leaf boarded timber door to NE elevation; 20th century timber conservatory addition to NW. Single storey 4 bay outbuilding to SW at end of driveway, in ruins at NW; random rubble with stugged dressings; window to penultimate bay to right, boarded timber doors to remaining bays of NE elevation. Wide opening to SE elevation, with cement lintel. Corrugated iron roof, missing to NW.

GARDEN AND BOUNDARY WALLS: random rubble wall with rubble coping along road to S of house. Random rubble wall with rubble coping to S of drive between garage and row of outbuildings.

Statement of Special Interest

Set on the banks of the Esk, the Mill House is a remarkably complete and unusual building. The deep skews suggest that it was perhaps originally thatched. The ingleneuk, worthy of mention by MacGibbon and Ross, is another interesting and useful feature. Ingleneuks were common in the 17th and 18th centuries in Scotland, although the earliest known example dates from the 16th century at Lochend House, Restalrig (Lothian). They were usually recessed from a larger room, providing enough space for a warm seating area around the fire, although that in the Mill House is at present blocked up. They may have emerged to decrease the risk of fire, (being an enclosed area away from the main rooms) although it has also been suggested that they were a vernacular version of the medieval kitchen fireplaces of Scottish tower houses. Their large dimensions allowed the fast removal of smoke, with a slow draught which extinguished sparks before they left the tall flue; which was especially important if, as has been suggested above, the building had a thatched roof. Small windows in the back and/or sides provided light (and a view), and the interiors were sometimes also painted white to reflect the light of the fire so sitters could see to spin, sew etc. It would appear that the ingleneuk at the Mill House had another purpose. According to MacGibbon and Ross there was a chute below the window of the ingleneuk which discharged ashes onto the ground which could then be used as fertilser. An article in the Dalkeith Advertiser suggests that the Mill House may originally have been an inn, and also that there could have been an underground passage between it and the manse (see separate listing), however no evidence has been found so far to support this. On the banks of the Esk, to the SE of the Mill House, is the gable of what was presumably the original mill, now in ruins.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.