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Summary

Description

Circa early to mid early 19th century. Single storey, rectangular- plan, gabled former threshing barn range adjoined to a circular horsegang with conical roof to the north.

The threshing barn is constructed of squared coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and straight skews to the gable ends, and the horsemill is of coursed rubble, both are painted white and have slate roofs. The horsemill has graded slates.

Small square window openings remain to the horsegang, with two large openings for horses to the east and west, with some later infill evident to both. Possibly used as a cattle shelter mid 20th century as troughs are evident against the interior south walls.

The long threshing range has a squared headed cart opening to the north west and door opening to north. To the south there are several openings, including a square headed cart opening. There is a modern corrugated iron lean-to extension at the centre of this elevation.

The interiors of both the horsegang and the barn were seen in 2013. The power shaft, milling machinery and gearing have been removed, though the centre timber roof post, radial collars and main structural beam to the horsegang are extant. The walls to the east range of the threshing barn (forming former L-plan) are extant up to wallhead.

Statement of Special Interest

The former horsegang and attached threshing barn is a good surviving example of traditional buildings related to an important period of agricultural history in Scotland. It is significant as an agricultural building type as it represents a shift in farming technology during the early part of the 19th century. The buildings have been relatively unaltered and their setting remains largely unchanged since the time of construction. The partial remains of the horsegang to the interior is significant as surving interior machinery is rare.

Due to advancements in farming processes horsegangs were common building types in farms of the 19th century, and although the threshing machinery is no longer extant, the survival of this circular Galloway type horsemill along with its threshing barn, are relatively rare.

This former horsemill and barn is an early example of its type and compares well with other similar listed examples in Dumfries and Galloway, such as Shortrigg and Drumbreg (see separate listings).

Threshing machines started to replace obsolete hand threshing practices in the larger farms by 1800 in the era of 'high-farming' and technological progression. Due to an increase in effective fertilisation of arable land, farms of this period were looking to mechanise the traditional process of hand fail threshing which could no longer keep up with demand.

The first successful mechanical process of threshing by rubbing was successfully developed by Andrew Meikle and his son, George, in Haddington, East Lothian in 1786. This process was quicker, more economical and produced a higher quality of grain. These machines were powered in a variety of ways including horse, wind and water to begin with and later followed by steam power. Utilising horse power for these threshing machines was a natural progression and hence the development of the threshing machine and the horse engine developed simultaneously.

The machines were usually powered by four to six horses tethered to the ends of long beams and walking in a circular path, turning the axis to power the machine. These machines were contained within barns which were of oblong or circular shapes. The horse-wheel was made of interlocking or 'half-lapped' pieces of wood, and held together by wooden pegs. The beams or 'shears' supporting the lay-shaft were held together by metal tie-rods. Each turn of the horse-wheel would spin the lay-shaft, thus driving the threshing-mill in the next-door barn.

Threshing machines were seen as a status symbol in the era of 'high-farming' with nearly all farms owning one. By the 1850s most horse mills were rapidly converted to steam powered machines permitted by a ready supply of coal to power fixed engines. Only a handful of horse mills survived after this, mostly on the smaller farms or crofts, for example, and there were at least ten surviving in East Lothian in the 1960s.

References

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