An old (ca. 1800) and fairly complete corn mill - ‘corn’ often meant oats for these small mills in rural Ireland.
Grinding oats is a two stage process.
The grain was first dried in a kiln to make the inedible outer shell come off more easily when ground between ‘shelling stones’.
The unwanted shells were then separated from the edible kernels by blowing them off with a current of air in a winnowing machine with wooden fans.
The kernels were subsequently ground with a pair of more closely spaced stones to give oatmeal, which was sieved into various grades.
The mill was powered by an overshot waterwheel fed by a long mill race which is still there - the building next door was the kiln but is now a shell.
The wooden waterwheel has rotted away completely leaving just the iron hubs.
Inside is a standard transmission system, mostly wood but with some iron.
There are four takeoffs from the large horizontal gear (great spur), three for pairs of stones on the floor above and one for ancillary equipment.
Next to the base of an elevator is a cylindrical sieve and a fan box.
On the next floor are two pairs of stones - the third one seems to have gone - along with the remains of the wooden ‘stone furniture’ and a workbench.
The holes in the top runner stone are for adding balancing weights.
I didn’t see a nameplate but these were made by Kay and Hilton (Liverpool), which turn up quite frequently - there were some in e.g. New Caynton Mill.
On the upper floor are the tops of the elevators, a manual sack hoist, an oscillating sieve (jog scry) and another fan box.
Nice little place.
Grinding oats is a two stage process.
The grain was first dried in a kiln to make the inedible outer shell come off more easily when ground between ‘shelling stones’.
The unwanted shells were then separated from the edible kernels by blowing them off with a current of air in a winnowing machine with wooden fans.
The kernels were subsequently ground with a pair of more closely spaced stones to give oatmeal, which was sieved into various grades.
The mill was powered by an overshot waterwheel fed by a long mill race which is still there - the building next door was the kiln but is now a shell.
The wooden waterwheel has rotted away completely leaving just the iron hubs.
Inside is a standard transmission system, mostly wood but with some iron.
There are four takeoffs from the large horizontal gear (great spur), three for pairs of stones on the floor above and one for ancillary equipment.
Next to the base of an elevator is a cylindrical sieve and a fan box.
On the next floor are two pairs of stones - the third one seems to have gone - along with the remains of the wooden ‘stone furniture’ and a workbench.
The holes in the top runner stone are for adding balancing weights.
I didn’t see a nameplate but these were made by Kay and Hilton (Liverpool), which turn up quite frequently - there were some in e.g. New Caynton Mill.
On the upper floor are the tops of the elevators, a manual sack hoist, an oscillating sieve (jog scry) and another fan box.
Nice little place.
