20/08/2024
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"The Mill at Strath" by Arthur Perigal
19th-century artist Arthur Perigal painted the watermill at Strath, Gairloch in 1870. There had been a mill in the village since 1638, although the building shown here probably dates to the late 1700s.
In Strath, the mill channel ran downhill, passing under the main road at the bottom of what is now Mihol Road, to the water wheel. The Mill produced meal or flour from corn, peas or barley. There would've also been a kiln, heated by a fireplace below.
The 'Miller' lived in a house opposite the Mill, where the Millcroft Hotel now stands. The last Miller to work here was John Forbes who worked from 1877 and ran the mill until its closure in 1922. The Forbes family also operated the mill at Aultbea. The Mill at Strath was a great place for villagers to gather in the evening for a story or a song!
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