Moarfield, Yell

Heritage listing

Category C Date Added 30/03/1998 Local Authority Shetland Islands Planning Authority Shetland Islands Parish Yell NGR HP 53669 03426 Coordinates 453669, 1203426 — Later 19th century, with mid 20th century alteration. Substantial former horizontal (subsequently under-shot) watermill, sited in gully steeply sloping to E. Drystone rubble walls with wallhead raised in concrete, corrugated-iron cladding to steeply-pitched roof and gableheads. Mill based on standard horizontal mill arrangement of rectangular drystone rubble building containing upper and lower houses with rectangular openings to inlet and outlet. Lower house contains remains of boarded timber waterwheel wheel on iron axle with pulley wheel at S end, axle located in bearings mounted on central dwarf wall and recesses in gables. Cat-slide dormerhead to entrance door at outer right of E elevation, accessing upper house containing timber mountings at S gable for gear-wheels (now gone 1997), and millstones stored in NE corner. Small concrete dam nearby to N with 2 sluice gates, that to E feeding concrete lade leading to timber chute piercing lower house. Stone slab footbridge over stream to S of dam. — This is a tall and substantial example of one of these mills in an unusually confined and rocky site, resulting in the entrance door to the upper house being in the same elevation as the outlet, rather than the more common gable end. The alteration to a more sophisticated mill with vertical wheel and gearing to machinery is also unusual.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.