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Roslin Glen Gunpowder Mill

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Mill buildings, 2008
Mill buildings
© Jim Barton
Mill buildings, 2008
Mill buildings
© Morley Sewell

Roslin Glen Gunpowder Mill was located in the glen of the same names, on the River North Esk in Midlothian, about 10 miles to the south Edinburgh, and to the northeast of Penicuik. Material produced by the mill was exported around the world, from the ports of Leith and Newhaven.

The mill is understood to have opened between 1801 or 1803 to 1954, which means it was in production for at least 150 years.

A number of the buildings were set into an available hillside, a normal safety precaution at such places, intended to help limit the spread of damage in the event of an accident. However, report indicate that despite the stringent safety measures which would have been imposed on such a mill, numerous accidents still occurred there. However, it was a major source of employment for the surrounding area, and its period of operation meant that many women would have worked there during the war, when the men would have been conscripted.

Having first opened some time between 1801 or 1803, the mill finally closed in 1954 following some 150 years of operation, with the final years being completed while under the control of Nobel Explosives.

Chimney base, 2009
Chimney base
© Jim Barton
Weir above the mill, 2008
Weir above the mill
© Morley Sewell

Power for the mill was originally provided by water, which is one reason why the mill was located beside the nearby River Esk, where a weir was provided the necessary water to feed the mill's waterwheel. Images of the site show a building with the pitched roof where the water wheel which powered the mill was located. The end wall of the building has a large circular opening for the shaft let into its end wall.

During the mid-1800s, steam power was added to the site, supplementing the original water power source.

Some accounts of the chimney base pictured describe it as a magazine (Number 7), but other images show the interior to be built up using bricks, which suggest it was indeed a chimney, as this interior structure left no space for storage of material. Also, magazines were more likely to be found built into hillsides, as above, or in earth covered structures, so that the effects of any blast from an explosion would be directed upwards rather than outwards. An explosion within the chimney structure shown would have been disastrous for the site, as it would have thrown the material in all directions.

External links


Aerial views


Map

⚠ (:gma-point lat=55.8493490 lon=-3.1747913 text='Roslin Glen Gunpowder Mill' :) ⚠ (:gma-map view=hybrid zoom=17:)

⚠ [[!Factory]] ⚠ [[!Gunpowder Mill]]⚠ (:WPCategoriesList:)

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