Orkney Image Library

The wall that hides the wheel -side and front -was built so as not to let the wheel frighten the horse passing on the road.
The metal bracket to the right of the wheel - at the edge of the arch - supported a shaft and pully whereby the Mill was driven by a Fordson tractor when water was in short supply.

Thanks for that Rae. The tendency for the water to be low was presumably the reason why the wheel was breastshot rather than overshot. Do you know why the arches front and back were filled-in? Weather-protection perhaps? (Certainly not to improve the mill's looks.)

Most interesting to hear why the mill Wheel was built up. We have visited a meal mill in a small village in Gloucestershire and that mill had a double wheel within the building itself. I wonder if that would have been so the sound was kept down to a minimum as it was by a main road. The Village is "Bibury" and discribed by William Morris who was responsible for Melsetter House furnishings as the "Prittest Little Village in England". The boy on the Hovis advert pushes his bike up the road by the same mill I have been told !!. "Oh I do go on a bit to much dont I !!."

We used to go to this mill with my Dad in the 50s. Being about 5 at the time we knew the miller as Jock O' The Mill and his wife as Mimie. Can anyone tell me their surname? I can remember the noise and dusty atmosphere as the mill worked.

Yes Ian the water level to supply the Mill was the deciding factor as to what type of drive the Mill had. Overshot,high breastshot, lower breastshot and even undershot, I don't think there were any of the larger Mills in Orkney with undershot wheels - someone might know different.

I don't know anything about the arches, unless the original wheel was housed inside, if so,the wheel would have been narrow and not able to produce much power. The reason for the wheels to be inside or roofed over was to protect them from the sun in the summer when they weren't working as they would gizzen and the buckets fall out when the work started again after harvest. When covered, the wheel isn't affected by the wind. At the Barony Mill with the wheel in the open a force 8 and upwards the wind holds the water back causing it to slow down, then you get a lull letting all the water to flow at full force again causing all sorts of problems with the speed of the machinery.
John is correct in saying the inside wheel would be quieter,especially in a village or town,or again, not to frighten the horse.

Thanks again Rae. Great to see that old Orkney word 'gizzen' being used, and so accurately! I'm sure you're right about the arches being evidence of an earlier internal wheel. In my photo #24285 I think you can see traces of a lade, to the left of the existing one, leading towards the arch. As soon as I can find the energy to get myself over there I'll have a look-see.

A great friend of mine in the past was Ikee Watters. Ikee spent a part of his young life at the Tankerness Mill and helped his Uncle Jock Linklater in his work running the Mill. I have listened to so many tales o the Mill!!. Running a meal mill was one of the most important parts of Parish life in days gone by and was such a precise piece of work unless someone was involved would not understand just how finely set the stones had to be and the water source was all important. I mind Ikee saying ice was very bad if it broke on the loch and "laid"as it would smash the buckets o the wheel. I think it would be true to say that most o the mills in Orkney were run by members of the Linklater family at one time.

Managed to stir my stumps today, and have posted a new photo. No real sign of an old lade going to the arch, but its stones could have been used for a later one.