Findon Mill
The full article from which this summary is taken is available here.
The clearest identification of the existence of Findon Mill is on the Findon Estate map of 1769.
Encouragement to learn more of the history of the Mill and its surroundings of which we are the custodians came with the acquisition of a copy of a watercolour painted by Sir James Dixon Mackenzie of Scatwell in 1879.
Investigations have taken us through the stages of the mill being used for the processing of meal (corn), timber, with the possibility of iron at an earlier stage, until its assumed reduction in size of the building in the early 1920s with the break-up of the Findon Estate.
The view in 1913 - no longer a corn/meal mill but now processing timber. To enlarge image click on image.
Photograph courtesy of Elizabeth A. Jorgensen. For permission to use this photograph contact: ejorsted@gmail.com
Acknowledgements
Our thanks go to Alasdair Cameron, Jim Mackay, friends, neighbours and visitors for sharing their memories and researches with us.
Pam and Roger Piercy
February 2016
January 2023 her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG31490 Findon Mill
her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG31491 House associated with Findon Mill. The area has always been known a "Findon Mills" and was used to cover a quite extensive area, much to the confusion of postal deliveries etc.
April 2024
A relic from the past. We recently became the custodians of a significant piece of the original Mill as shown in the photos below.
It is not possible to work out to which door the lock belonged as the full view of the south face of the Mill, shown above or in the view from the road shown below, aren't detailed enough and the current access door from the road wouldn't handle this size of lock.
The lock has been in the possession of Jane Mackenzie, whose father, Dondo Mackenzie worked as a carpenter in the basement of the Mill, shown below, where, currently all original doorways have been blocked as can be seen in the photo above.
In the 1980s just after we moved into Findon Mills, Dondo was the source of a lot of historical knowledge. It was during these exchanges that he informed us that he had retained the lock when the Mill was decommissioned and reduced to approximately a quarter of its original size.
The Community is very fortunate to have a reference to implement Dondo's stories in the form of Annie Smith's Mackenzie's (b.1906 d.2000) reminiscences of her life in Culbokie, “Earth's Crammed with Heaven” which is available here.
The relevant passage is taken from page 28; c/b c1916
When speaking of the tradesmen I must not forget to mention Donald the Carpenter. He was skilled in all forms of joiner work, but it was as an undertaker that he excelled. His coffins were all hand-made and of excellent workmanship. On our way home from the school we would go to his shop to see the coffin he had just completed. We would read the name of the man or woman, and admire the beautiful gold writing of the scripture verse on the lid. The visit did not make us unhappy as we felt that we were not going to die for years and years. After his death Donald MacKenzie became the village carpenter and undertaker. He was as skilled a craftsman as his predecessor. Now another Donald MacKenzie - Dondo, his nephew, carries on the family business, with as much expertise as those who came before him.
Her reference to Dondo could well be her looking back whilst preparing the book.
