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Newsletter 115, Winter 2016 © Hampshire Mills Group |
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Award for Knockando Woolmill
Pam Moore |
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In August, the
Knockando woollen mill near Elgin, Morayshire, held
a ceremony to mark the winning by the mill of a
Europa Nostra Award.
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Knockando, a Grade A
Listed site in the Spey Valley, has been
continuously in production since 1784, when Parish
records refer to it as the “Wauk Mill”, with much of
its machinery dating from that time. Set in
beautiful countryside, it produces fine cloth, much
of which is exported, including to the Far East.
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Although the historic
machinery can be seen, quite a lot of production is
now done on more modern looms in a converted
building adjacent to the historic mill. Visitors
can see the restored overshot waterwheel, the
spinning mules and traditional looms and other
processes such as carding taking place.
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By the Millennium,
Knockando was facing hard times and many similar
mills had closed. Knockando Woolmill Trust, formed
in 2000, raised the £3.5 million needed to restore
the buildings and machinery. This work was
completed in 2014. The Trust now owns the mill
building, leasing the rest of the site from
Knockando Estate and has opened it to the public.
Europa Nostra was
impressed by both the mill itself and also the Craft
Training workshop formed to enable the passing on of
traditional skills to young people. The citation
commented that “The Knockando Woolmill is special
due to its continuous unbroken production of
textiles over the last 200 years. This is
exceptional in Europe and the survival of this type
of local production is rare.”
See
www.knockandowoolmill.org.uk for more
information.
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