1700–1799
Tower grain mill built
Bielside Windmill probably dates from the late eighteenth century and was a grain mill.
Site overview
West Barns, Bielside House With Former Windmill incorporates a former seventeenth-century windmill converted for domestic use. Trove and Canmore record the separate windmill element as West Barns, Bielside Windmill. The tower is attached to Bielside House and has been adapted as part of the residence.
Map
Map markers and directions links are provided for location reference only and do not indicate public access or permission to enter a site.
No site photograph is currently available. Images will be added as field visits are carried out.
History
West Barns, Bielside House With Former Windmill is a former windmill incorporated into Bielside House near West Barns, Dunbar. Historic Environment Scotland records the listed building as a nineteenth-century house and extension incorporating a seventeenth-century windmill converted for domestic use. Trove and Canmore record the windmill element as West Barns, Bielside Windmill.
The windmill was a substantial tower mill near the mouth of the Biel Water. It was built of rubble, mainly red sandstone, and finished with rough harl. Donnachie and Stewart describe it as about 30 feet high, with an external ground diameter of about 20 feet, tapering to about 12 feet at the top, and preserving the original three-floor interior.
The ground-floor chamber was shaped like a truncated cone, and the tower was extensively altered when converted to a dwelling. The mill probably dates from the late eighteenth century and was a grain mill. No remains of the mill mechanism survive.
Timeline
1866
Bielside House extended
Robert Rowand Anderson designed the 1866 extension to Bielside House, adjoining the earlier house and former windmill converted for domestic use.
1983
Listed building designation
West Barns, Bielside House With Former Windmill was listed on 19 December 1983.
Sources and records
Historic Environment Scotland listed building record; Trove / Canmore place record; Windmill World site entry; Scottish Windmills: An Outline and Inventory