Historic Scotland: Two historical Scottish watermills will celebrate more than 300 years of milling history as part of National Mills Weekend, 9th – 10th May

EDINBURGH, Scotland, 2015-5-7 — /Travel PR News/ — Two historical Scottish watermills will be celebrating more than 300 years of milling history as part of National Mills Weekend.

Over the course of a weekend, on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May, Perth’s 18th century Stanley Mills and New Abbey Corn Mill in Dumfries, which dates back to the late 1700s, will be marking National Mills Weekend with special mill themed events.

The weekend-long, annual celebration which is coordinated by the Mills Section of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, champions the UK’s diverse milling heritage and encourages people to explore their local windmills and watermills.

Visitors will have the opportunity to discover more about these surviving examples of Scottish watermills and their role in local life and industry over the centuries.

New Abbey Corn Mill, is  a restored, operational water-powered mill and sits on the Pow Burn, in the village of New Abbey. In addition to viewing the waterwheel in action, during National Mills Weekend visitors can discover how the mill used this natural source of power for centuries to produce oatmeal, once a diet staple in Scottish rural life.

Founded at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the 1780s, Stanley Mills in Perth processed cotton and produced textiles for over two centuries.  Visitors to the mill  will have the opportunity to explore the mill’s changing history as it adapted to developments in technology and learn what mill life might have been like for its workers. Whilst a series of activities during the weekend  will provide  visitors with the  chance to learn more about how waterwheels work and try their hand at  special weaving sessions.

Lorna Ewan, Head of Visitor Experience, Content and Learning for Historic Scotland, said: “Whilst both of these visitor attractions can be enjoyed for the majority of the year, National Mills Weekend  is a fantastic opportunity to explore and discover more about Scotland’s rich and varied milling heritage, from oatmeal to cotton, through a series of special themed events.

“Over the course of the weekend visitors will be able to learn about New Abbey Corn Mill and its history, spanning more than 300 years or visit Stanley Mills for an insight into what a working cotton mill might have looked like during the height of the Industrial Revolution.”

Events will be taking place at New Abbey Corn Mill and Stanley Mills on both Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May and are included in the cost of admission price to each attraction.

New Abbey Corn Mill is open to visitors all year round, 9.30am-5.30pm and closed Thursday and Fridays only during the winter season. Stanley Mills is open to visitors during the season, April to September, with shortened opening hours in October, 9.30am-5.30pm and 10am-4pm, respectively.

National Mills Weekend:

• National Mills Weekend runs every year during the second weekend in May. It has been organised by the SPAB Mills Section since 1984, and is part of a Europe-wide festival of milling heritage during May.

• The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded by William Morris in 1877 to care for and preserve the UK’s architectural heritage. The Mills Section of the SPAB was founded in 1931 to protect and promote windmills and watermills.

• Information on mills open nationwide can be found on the National Mills Weekend website atwww.nationalmillsweekend.co.uk

Notes for editors:

• Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.

• Historic Scotland and RCAHMS are creating a new public body, Historic Environment Scotland (HES,) which will come into effect in October 2015. See the Transition Programme section of our website for further information www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historicenvironmentscotland

• Register for media release email alerts from www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/news. If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, please email hs.website@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

• 2015 is the Year of Food and Drink, a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder and the role that food and drink plays in shaping our economic success. Scotland generates over £2.5m per day through food and drink tourism. A series of themed months will create an appetite for key areas of Scotland’s food and drink industries – from seafood and whisky to berries and high-quality meat. To find out more visit www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland.

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For further information
Grant Thomson, Communications Officer
Historic Scotland Media Office
0131 668 8074 or 07580 702 611
grant.thomson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk