125 Of 365: The Weir At Fair a Far Mill

This was a former corn mill operated by the Cramond
 Estate as part of their Fair a Far Farm operations. It was purchased at the same time as Cockle Mill (1752) but was not converted to iron working until 1759. The shell of the main building still survives along with traces of the adjoining buildings. The millhouse has scrape marks on the south wall (said to be from the mill wheel). The mill wheel was water driven and geared to a smaller wheel, the axle then entered through the wall to drive the tilt hammer and grindstones.



Inside the ruin there are the remains of the corbels that were used to support machinery drive shafts for the ham- mer, bellows, grindstones, etc. The lintel above the southwest door (i.e. nearest the weir) carries the date 1737, and a marriage lintel inscribed BW: IL 1759, from one of the adjacent buildings, has been mounted above the north archway of the mill. The current weir was built in 1839 and the City Valuation Records show that the mill was still operational in 1873.


The floods along the Almond Valley in 1935 destroyed many of the buildings. The ruins of the mill remains, plus the weir and fish lad-
der, are now grade B listed structures. Some remains of the other buildings can still be found in the area, particularly during the winter months