Gerston Mill

[Christina Baldwin]

Hello
Re the Ross family of Gerston. Various census docs show that John Ross (father of John Ross & later NZ knight Sir John Ross who erected the Ross Institute building in Halkirk) was a miller at Gerston, Halkirk. What sort of mill was this and are their any remnants of the mill remaining or photos of the site. Janet Sutherland Ross married Alexander McLeod & later emigrated to NZ and are my ggrandparents.
Thank you for your help. It is much appreciated.
Regards Christina
New Zealand

[trinkie]

Hallo Christina,

If you do a search here on Caithness.org for Gerston Mill - you will find that the Field Club has an article, there may be some pictures too.

(( The search box is at the top left of the front page ))

Good luck
Trinkie

[Christina Baldwin]

Thanks Trinkie
I found the following:
'There were cruives on the Thurso river at Gerston, and there was a mill for the use of tenants on the Braehour burn'.
I dont know what cruives are but it doesnt seem to tell me what the mill was.
Thanks anyway.
Christina

[trinkie]

Hallo Christina


I think that word ' cruives' has something to do with fishing .

This Mill would likely have been for grain.

I'll see if I can find out more.

Trinkie

[Christina Baldwin]

ROAMING AROUND SIR JOHN'S BACK YARD

By Stephen Cashmore
http://www.internet-promotions.co.uk/archives/caithness/improvements.htm
Further along the Thurso's west bank were the lands of Brawll, with its seven-acre gardens, and Gerston, home of Captain George Swanson, another noted improver. These farms bordered on the suburbs of Halkirk, where the river was bridged. A woollen manufactory, of which great things were expected, had just opened in this fledgling village which had a church, a school and a house, where a man named William Homes lived, six miles from Thurso and beyond the frontier of this brief account of agricultural improvements in Thurso parish two hundred years ago.
Hello All
I have just found the reference above, on the Internet, which suggests there may have been a Woollen Mill at Gerston- which I what Iam trying to establish as John Ross became a very wealthy and successful woollen mill owner/operator later in New Zealand & I was trying to work out if he learnt the trade from his father in Gerston.
I have put the above reference on the thread in case anyone else asks or can add to it.
Regards Christina