Inverbuist Mills

[sonofthom]

My great grandfather worked in Inverbuist Mills, according to the 1861 census, in the parish of Scone. Does anyone have any information on these mills? The only thing I have found online is that they seem to have been just over the River Tay from Luncarty.

[DonM]

http://maps.nls.uk/view/74400163 look here NW side of the parish.  Once you find it go to http://maps.nls.uk select a more recent map for a closer view.

Don

[ecksdochter]

Hello sonofthom,
     As you say, not a lot of information about Inverbuist Mills to be found.
     There is a small mention and a photograph of Innerbuist Meal Mill on this Stormontfield website.
          www.stormontfield.co.uk
     This OS Six Inch, 1843-1882 Map from the National Library of Scotland (nls) shows Innerbuist Mill with Stormontfield to the north & Luncarty to the west on the opposite bank of the Tay River. (The mill you mention in your original post)
          http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=56.4486&lon=-3.4547&layers=5
     These maps are great fun and one of my favourite websites.
     Zoom in/out. On the left of the screen, in 1. Select a category: Choose Scotland from the drop-down menu. 2. Select a map/map series: Choose a different map from the drop-down menu. See how an area changes over the years. Slide the Blue Dot on the left of screen for an up-to-date satellite overview.
     On the River Tay, I thought Innerbuist might be a cotton or linen mill. Both the Stormontfield website & maps show cotton or linen bleaching works/fields in the area although there doesn't appear to be cotton/linen mills. Perhaps material to be bleached came from the massive mills at Stanley, further up river. A wee bit more history of the area here:
          www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stanley/stanleymills/
     Hope Innerbuist Meal Mill is the mill you are looking for.
               Regards,     Dod.
PS. The area did produce their own cotton & linen. Timeline from the Stormontfield website says in 1787 a 99yr lease was granted in favour of William MacAlpine to build a cotton Spinning Mill at Colenhaugh. A total of  450,000 yards of  cotton & linen was bleached at the mill in 1791. The Mill name changed to Stormontfield in 1792 and closed in 1861 when the American Civil War caused a recession in the cotton trade. (During the American Civil War, the North blockaded Southern ports to stop the export of cotton. This made it difficult or too expensive for small mills and especially hand loom weavers, to source cotton elsewhere, all but bringing an end to the cottage weaving industry)
     
     
   
     

[sonofthom]

Thanks for your replies - the map site is great fun and highly informative.

I had taken the details from the census and on looking again, while the script is by no means crystal clear, it is readable as "Innerbuist". My great grandfather, Peter Thomson, has his occupation listed as Mill Carter.

I had wondered if there was a connection with Stanley Mills, but as Innerbuist seems to have been a meal mill this seems unlikely. Nevertheless I have never visited Stanley Mills but having been reading about them for this topic they sound as if they are well worth a visit so when they reopen for the season I will take a trip there.