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 mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

located on the

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, in Scotland, owned by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...

since 1989. The mill sits adjacent to Maeshowe Chambered Cairn.

History

Watermill (1882–1962)

Tormiston Mill was built in 1884/5 by Colonel Balfour of

Shapinsay Shapinsay (, ) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of , it is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and, with a bedrock formed from Old Red Sandstone overlain by bo ...

, 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, 8 spoke

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

, wide with a diameter. 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 ** Béré Department, containing the city * Béré, Chad, a city * Béré Region, Woroba District, Ivory Coast * Bere Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Early name for t ...

and

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

for bread or porridge. Tormiston Mill served the parish of

Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) (; ) 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 Stenness parish adjoins the s ...

until 1962 when it finally ceased production. After the mill closed, it became a restaurant and shop in 1972, winning a European Architectural Heritage Award in 1975.

Maeshowe Visitor Centre (1989–2016)

Tormiston Mill was purchased by

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 the end of the 2004 tourist season. 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 in the parish of Sandwick, Orkney, Sandwick, on the west coast of Mainland, Orkney, Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. It consiste ...

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 regular staff use in 2020, and by 2024 was no longer accessible to staff, however it is still owned by Historic Environment Scotland. The mill is a category B listed building.

References

{{coord, 58.9946, -3.1864, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 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