Tormiston Mill is a Category B listed

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

located on the Mainland of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, in Scotland, owned by Historic Scotland since 1989. The mill sits adjacent to Maeshowe Chambered Cairn.

History

Watermill (1882–1962)

Tormiston Mill was built in 1882 by Colonel Balfour of

Shapinsay Shapinsay (, sco, Shapinsee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. Balfour Castle, ...

, and became operational shortly after. Many of the original mill mechanisms have been preserved inside. The mill is a large, rectangular building with three floors and originally a small attic until it was stripped out during asbestos removal in the 2010s. It was powered by three pairs of grinding stones driven by a cast iron

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

. Tormiston was not a flour mill, but instead processed grain, peas and beans for animal feed, as well as coarse

bere Bere may refer to: Places * Bere, Botswana, a village * Béré, Burkina Faso, a city * Bere Department, Burkina Faso * Béré, Chad, a city * Béré Region, Woroba District, Ivory Coast * Bere Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Early name for the village ...

and

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...

for bread or porridge. Tormiston Mill served the parish of

Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) ( non, Steinnes; nrn, Stennes) is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Geography S ...

until 1962 when it finally ceased production. After the mill closed, it became a restaurant and shop, winning a European Architectural Heritage Award in 1975.

Maeshowe Visitor Centre (1989–2016)

Tormiston Mill was purchased by Historic Scotland in 1989, and because of the building's close proximity to Maeshowe Chambered Cairn, it became the ticket office and gift shop of Maeshowe. A cafe was located on the second floor until around 2005. Tormiston Mill had no wheelchair access to the gift shop on the first floor, and there were concerns about the asbestos located within the roof of the building. As safety concerns grew revolving around the carpark's close proximity with the A965 road, a crash outside the mill finally led to the close of the mill as a visitor centre in September 2016. Tours from Maeshowe operated via shuttle bus from the

Skara Brae Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. Consisting of ten clustered houses, made of flagstones, in earthen dams t ...

visitor centre in Sandwick until a new Maeshowe visitor centre opened in Stenness Village in April 2017. Tormiston Mill was officially condemned for Historic Scotland staff use in 2020.

References

Historic Scotland properties in Orkney 1884 establishments in Scotland Industrial buildings completed in 1885 Watermills in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Orkney Listed industrial buildings in Scotland Mainland, Orkney {{Orkney-stub