Renovation of the Old Mill

The Old Mill and the neighbouring Millbrae Cottage at Bunessan were acquired by the Ross of Mull Historical Centre in 2001. Millbrae Cottage was opened in 2009 as a small museum, an office and an archive storage space and has been open to the public since then. The Old Mill is a ruinous shell and has become increasingly fragile over the last 20 years. It is now at a stage where it needs consolidation work to ensure it is safe enough for activities in and around Millbrae Cottage to continue.

Following the building condition survey on the state of the Mill completed in December 2023 and the community consultation on redevelopment of the Mill which took place last summer, we are now in the process of applying for grants to cover the cost of the urgent remedial work necessary to stabilise the ruins that was specified in the report. This is essential work (replacing key lintels, professionally removing vegetation that has grown up in the stonework and consolidating the stonework) that needs to take place in the next year to prevent further deterioration. Once this work is completed the Mill will be safe for the public to walk inside the walls.

The structure is of special historic interest because the walls have remained unchanged since it ceased to be a working mill in 1914. It is also one of the few remaining industrial structures dating back to the 19th century in the area. The Mill and its 17th century predecessor would have been essential for all the local crofters and farmers to grind their grain. We plan on creating interpretation boards explaining the history of the Mill and how the different parts functioned and hope to bring alive this important part of our heritage. Further information about the Mill's history can be found here.

The cost of the urgent remedial work along with interpretation boards and signage will cost in the region of £60,000. To this end, we are applying to a number of grant funders who support preservation work on heritage buildings and also welcome any donations. This work is essential in order to preserve the Mill for decades to come and to allow for the possibility of redevelopment as a community resource when and if the community is ready to take that on. In the meantime, we will all be able to enjoy the improved access to this fascinating historical industrial building.

Watch out for further updates on progress with the fundraising and more detailed articles about the Mill.

This Mill project complies with the Creative Commons license and all digital materials related to the project are publicly available. For details see - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/