800 Years Of Milling

Discover the charms of Barry Mill, an operational water-driven corn mill, and the generations of people whose lives it helped to change

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BARRY MILL preserves centuries of Scottish tradition as a rare, working corn mill. Snuggled amidst a forest of lush greenery, the 12th century water mill is a charming, tranquil tourist stop for those who wish to step back into the world of ancient Scotland.

The mill has been around for roughly 800 years and once supplied food and water to a community while being a central location for gossip and trading. In short, it was a perfect example of the merging of rural and industrial cultures.

It was powered by water - it still is, in fact - and was producing oatmeal and other foods up until 1982.

After a fire necessitated a rebuild in 1814, it remains the largest and arguably the most well-kept mill of its kind.

Mike Metcalfe is the visitor services supervisor at Barry Mill, which is cared for by the National Trust for Scotland.

He says that circa 1794 there were once 165 mills in Angus alone. Of those, 141 were meal mills. “In 1800, an estimated 60,000 mills in the UK were feeding the population,” Mike continues. “They were the food factories of their day.