Preston Mill and Phantassie Doocot

Location: East Linton EH40 3DS
Opening times: Thursday to Monday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm; closed Tuesday & Wednesday
Entry: Adult £11.00; concession £9.00; child £6.50; family £33.00; one adult family £22.00; Young Scot £1.00
Access: Car parking on site, no charge.

Thanks to its conical pantile roof, Preston Mill has been compared to Hagrid’s Hut from Harry Potter, a house fit for the Shire from Lord of the Rings, a witch’s hat, and a witch’s house, and it genuinely looks like all of them. In fact, our guide Fraser suggested that the mill’s picturesque appearance – especially the conical red pantile roof of the kiln – not only made it an artists’ favourite but also played a role in its continued survival.

Fraser was the ideal guide, one who both knew his stuff and was super-enthusiastic about sharing it with visitors as he seamlessly blended the industrial and social history of the mill. He also peppered his talk with a dizzying number of common idioms that originated around mill life, e.g., ‘the daily grind’, ‘rule of thumb’, ‘milling about’, ‘throwing a spanner in the works’, and ‘damsel in distress’. There were far too many to remember, but fortunately he had prepared a free leaflet listing them all. Guided tours, which are included in the entry price, run four times a day, at 10.30, 12.00, 13.30, and 15.00, last approximately one hour, and are highly recommended.

Approaching Preston Mill from the south. There has been a mill on this site since the 16^th century, and the current mill dates from the 18^th. It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1951, remained a commercial mill until 1959, and is still in working order.

The mill building is on the left and the kiln on the right. Note the wooden bridge connecting them. The two buildings were separate to protect the mill as there was always the risk of fire breaking out in the kiln.

*It is no wonder the mill proved attractive to painters (and, latterly, photographers), what with the millpond (out of sight to the left), the water wheel, and that distinctively-shaped kiln.*

*The kiln was once cylindrical in shape, but when it began to lean it was shored up with flying buttresses, thus giving it its fantastical appearance.*

*The area is susceptible to flooding and a series of stones on the west wall records the dates and water levels of 20th century floods that affected the mill.*

The distinctive and vaguely rude looking Phatassie Doocot is about a quarter of a mile away and is reached by crossing the footbridge over the River Tyne just south of the mill. Doocots, or dovecotes, were used to keep pigeons, a ready source of meat and eggs during the harsh Scottish winters. Doocots were common on Scottish estates during the late mediaeval and early modern periods, and many of them have survived. I have previously come across another ‘beehive’ shaped doocot at **Aberdour Castle** *and the* **Flag Heritage Centre** *is housed in an old doocot in Athelstaneford.*

The other side of the Phantassie Doocot, which was built in the 1500s and has nest boxes for 544 pigeons. ‘Phantassie’ was the name of the estate it belonged to, and it was gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1961 by the Hamiltons of Phantassie.

Destination or Diversion?

As previous stated, the tour takes about an hour and about the same should be allowed for – ahem – milling about the grounds, visiting the small exhibition, and having a wander to and from Phantassie Doocot, so this is a destination. If bypassing the tour then it’s a diversion. A trip to Preston Mill can be combined with a visit to the National Museum of Flight, which is less than five miles away and is the subject of my next entry.

A crow on the kiln (left), and the kiln’s intricate interior (right).

Destination or Diversion?

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