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MHG36425 - Tide mill - Scottack (Petty)

Summary

The site of the tide mill of Petty.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

A single unroofed building is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Inverness-shire 1874, sheet iv), but it is not shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1982).
Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 6 June 1996

NH 735 497 The site of the tide mill of Petty was surveyed as part of a wider study into the history of Petty Church and its environs. The site is previously recorded in the NMRS (NH 74 NW 95) as a single building. The site is a rectangular building with sluice and an associated dyke and possibly two other structures. A documentary study revealed a date of use, both as a mill and a dwelling, from late 17th to mid-19th century. <1>

The site was surveyed by M. Ruscoe and A. Coombs of NoSAS in March 2023 with the addition of research by UHI student L. Morrison. What was originally a small mechanized but significant site within an agricultural landscape is now surrounded by a golf course and has almost disappeared. The documentary research and survey give a picture of the rare survival of a saltwater mill. Petty parish had four mills but the most notable was the saltwater mill. During the late 1600s the presence of the mill and bulwark were sufficiently remarkable to figure in travellers’ memories and recorded in their journals. At that time it would have been a substantial structure in the scenery. The mill operated until the early 1800s and as such was an important contributor to the local economy. Salt water or tidal mills do not often figure in the archaeological record. A search of CANMORE produced only seven results. The statistical accounts for Scotland only has therecord of Petty mill. Highland HER has two records; Petty mill and Slagacharn, Munlochy where tradition has two possible mills which, however, appear to have been lost due to road building and drainage in modern times. The lack of similar sites make Petty saltwater mill even more remarkable with both documentary evidence and structural remains survive. <2>

Sources/Archives (2)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 7358 4970 (30m by 30m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH74NW
Civil Parish	PETTY
Geographical Area	INVERNESS

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Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

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