Today I visited the Dalgarven Mill Museum of Country Life and Costume (www.dalgarvenmill.org.uk) in North Ayrshire, located just north of Kilwinning on the road to Dalry. It's been on my Ayrshire to do list for some time, and it did not disappoint.
The mill itself can trace its presence on the site back to the 12th century, as part of the estate of Kilwinning Abbey, where it was previously known as the Waulk Myln of Groatholm. In 1568 a charter of feu records the mill being transferred into lay hands, and over the centuries it has been owned and operated by several families. Under the Blairs of Blair it was run by the Walkers, the Kings and then the Fergusons, and has seen some drama over the centuries, including a devastating fire in 1869 and its requisition by the UK Government as a mill during the Second World War.
The mill buildings on site have been painstakingly and lovingly renovated by architect Rob Ferguson (who my wife and I had the pleasure to meet and chat with in the coffee shop), with his family having occupied the buildings since 1883, and owned them since 1922, his own father having been the last working miller on the site. Today the premises host an extensive costume museum, exhibits on rural and country life, as well as the renovated mill working themselves, all open for display.
It's the unusual wee nuggets of information you come across in such places that make them such a pleasure to visit, and amongst the impressive display of Japanese kimonos currently on display there was a photograph of a church that used to exist just outside of Dreghorn village, not ten minutes walk from my flat in Irvine. It was purchased by the Japanese company Sun Life in 1996 and re-erected in the city of Hiratsuka near Tokyo to form a working wedding chapel today (see https://www.facebook.com/OldIrvine/posts/perceton-and-dreghorn-parish-church-in-japanperceton-and-dreghorn-parish-church-/1231881963527437/). You live and learn!
As well as the impressive exhibition, Rob has written a fascinating guide book on the history and renovation of the mill entitled The Life and Times of the Dalgarven Mills - A Miller's Tale, available from the museum (see https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/573029608/a-millers-tale?ref=shop_home_active_5). It's a great read, not only documenting the existence of the original mill from the 12th century onwards but explains the evolution of milling technology, the feudal customs of thirlage, the transfer of ownership across time, and the absolute mammoth task of the mill's renovation and transformation into the museum that now exists today.
And if that doesn't encourage you to visit, its cafe has the best clootie dumpling I've tasted in years!
For more on the museum visit its website at www.dalgarvenmill.org.uk - it is open from 10am-4pm Tuesdays to Saturdays, and 11am-4pm on Sundays; it is closed on Mondays. Admission is £6.
Here are a few more pics to tempt ye!
Chris
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