Thrumster Mills

**efoulis** · 18-Feb-06, 16:10

Hi
Can anyone tell me where I can get info on what Mills were operational in the 1800's in Thrumster.

**fred** · 18-Feb-06, 20:34

Originally Posted by efoulis

Hi
Can anyone tell me where I can get info on what Mills were operational in the 1800's in Thrumster.

I can only see the one on the 1877 Ordnance Survey map.

http://www.graven-images.org.uk/temp/6.png

**efoulis** · 19-Feb-06, 14:38

Thanks Fred for the info , do you know if its still there or when it stopped working as a Mill.
Many thanks,

**fred** · 19-Feb-06, 20:51

Originally Posted by efoulis

Thanks Fred for the info , do you know if its still there or when it stopped working as a Mill.
Many thanks,

There is a building marked on a recent Ordnance Survey map in exactly the same place but if it is the same one or not I do not know. I will be passing by there in the next day or two I'll take a look and see what I can find out.

**spurtle** · 20-Feb-06, 19:31

Assume you mean water mills. The main one was at Brickigoe (next door to the first house on the right going up the Yarrows road.

Many of the smaller holdings had their own mills - Oliclett had one, and there is one at Ulbster Mains, both operated using a system of dams. There are the remains of a very old mill on the burn running out of Sarclet loch (predates your area of interest by a long way, and a similar one on the Achairn/Toftgunn burn. There are traces of an even older one near the ancient settlement of Swartigill.
A more recent one stands on the croft of Brickigoe (on the way to Oliclett) and the workings and wheel are still there.
Many smaller holdings had a horse mill, turned, unsurprisingly, by a horse or pony, and it was often the children who had the job of walking round with the animal when they returned home from school.
You can see one on the road to Yarrows, just by the side of the road at the croft of West Yarrows. There are lots of these, where a water source was not handy.
Hope this helps

**fred** · 20-Feb-06, 20:29

Originally Posted by efoulis

Thanks Fred for the info , do you know if its still there or when it stopped working as a Mill.
Many thanks,

I stopped by today and no, it was demolished quite a while back and had been derelict for quite a while before that. The family who lived there in the early part of the 1900s were called Neilson, if they are related let me know and I'll give you more information.

Part of the old mill, a lintel with the date it was built, 1848, remains and was built into the garden wall of the present house

and one of the old mill stones is still there.

**Tam 2000** · 17-Nov-07, 18:35

Hi,

Can anyone provide me with more info regarding Mrs Neilson who previously stayed here in Brickogoe Road, photos would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

**fred** · 18-Nov-07, 00:21

Originally Posted by Tam 2000

Hi,

Can anyone provide me with more info regarding Mrs Neilson who previously stayed here in Brickogoe Road, photos would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Rumour has it that she had abilities beyond the normal. I was told she would go round the local farms and collect corn for her hens and none of the farmers dare refuse her or misfortune would befall them.

**Tam 2000** · 18-Nov-07, 13:46

Thanks for that Fred, anybody else with more info on Mrs Neilson?

**Tighsonas4** · 18-Nov-07, 14:01

not much info too add but inclined to think mrs neilson was from the west coast. think she had a daughter joey when they built the camp at
tannach quite a lot of the horses were stabled there..down near ulbster
there is a place known as the mill brae
as regards horse mills they were a fairly common feature in there time
and operated just as already mentioned
hope you find more info
regards tony

**kirtomy mcdonalds** · 21-Apr-09, 19:07

living in Mill House Thrumster early 1900s was Henrietta Neilson, nee McDonald. She was married to Wiilliam Neilson, Primary Teacher in Thrumster. Henrietta was my great, great grandmother's sister. She was from Kirtomy, Sutherland and she lived to 97. Not sure when she might have left Thrumster, but died back in Kirtomy. We don't know whatever happened to her daughter, Joey Neilson.

**Tighsonas4** · 22-Apr-09, 19:35

joey had a son used to live in thrumster little but now stays in wick but dont know much more than that tony

**kirtomy mcdonalds** · 23-Apr-09, 20:24

wonder if anyone local would know what his name is... Finding it hard to trace joey neilson at the moment, last census document says she was age 4 in 1901 while living at Mill House; don't know her married name though. Thanks for that anyway - very interesting! Lorna

**Tighsonas4** · 24-Apr-09, 12:35

Originally Posted by kirtomy mcdonalds

wonder if anyone local would know what his name is... Finding it hard to trace joey neilson at the moment, last census document says she was age 4 in 1901 while living at Mill House; don't know her married name though. Thanks for that anyway - very interesting! Lorna

have sent you a pm lorna tony

**gerry4** · 08-May-10, 09:04

I have found this thread very interesting as my wife and I have just bought the said Mill House. We did not notice the dated stone until we saw the photo of it, it has slightly more moss growing on it.

**Garnet** · 28-Sep-10, 16:16

Mrs H. Neilson was known to be still at the mill in 1945/6 must have returned home to Kirtomy sometime after that and was in her 90's by then. possibly 92. best I can do so far, hope it helps.

**sgmcgregor** · 01-Oct-10, 20:15

Hello Lorna (Kirtomy McDonalds),

My father's family, Robert McGregor & Christina Cormack Bremner, worked on numerous farms throughout their lives. They married in 1919, and Christina died in 1954, and Robert in 1956.

One of the many areas in which they worked was Thrumster. My dad went to Thrumster Primary School when he was young (early 1940s), and when Robert & Christina passed away my dad inherited their photo albums.

My dad and all of his family are now passed, but there is one member of the family still going - my dad's sister, Jenny (Janet Sutherland, nee McGregor). She has named one photo in particular as Neilson, but she couldn't say more about where the family lived. As I would imagine Neilson was an uncommon name in Caithness, and Jenny remembers the Neilson family in relation to teaching, it is likely that the two photos I have from my grandparent's albums are the same family - or closely related.

I have uploaded the pictures to the following website...

http://s742.photobucket.com/albums/x...lson%20Family/

Hope the photos are of interest, and you can confirm it is the family you are interested in. I have one picture definitely labelled as "Neilson Boy and mother", and the other picture is most likely the same family a good few years later.

Let me know what you think.

Regards,
Steven (Thurso, Caithness)

P.S. There are a lot of unnamed photographs in my grandparent's albums, and I'm not sure where is the best place to post them to see if anyone recognises family members/friends. As my g.parents worked on farms I'm assuming a lot were farm workers themsleves, or people they came into contact with, and who became friends.

**K.B** · 07-Oct-10, 19:19

Hi there been reading this thread and i currently live at thrumster little with my partner Paul Oag who is son of Peter Oag (paddy) , who now lives in wick. If i can get any info i will post on here

**Tam 2000** · 08-Oct-10, 19:03

I lived at Thrumster Mill for thirty years,I had to demolish it as it was in danger of collapse,the then local laird wanted to use it for army barracks and hoped they would reroof it but no joy so I had to purchase the land it stood on from Thrumster Estate, so down it had to come. I built the wall using the stone from the Mill and built the dated stone into it. One of the Mill stones lies in the back garden there.. We some times felt a 'presence' around us in the house but we didn't mind as she was a nice Lady and did us no harm. R.T.