EHG430 - Historic building recording - Balmacara Mill and Cottages, Balmacara Square

A basic building recording exercise was undertaken by Kirkdale Archaeology in 1997 at Balmacara Square, in order to create a summary review of the former Mill, the two cottages adjoining the Steading on its southwest corner and the ice house to the south. At the same time, a local resident, Mrs Findlayson, was consulted in the hope of gaining eyewitness insight into the more recent history of the buildings, and of the estate in general. The constraints of finances and time meant that little desk-based research could be undertaken at this stage, and the over-riding aim of the survey was to provide a record of the mill hydraulics (which also included a contour survey of the mill pond to the north - see EHG429), the cottages and the mill building itself. Externally visible features on the northeast and southwest elevations of the two cottages were recorded. Fortunately during the most recent visit to the site, the history of the Square was discussed with a local resident who had lived in the village for over 80 years. Their oral testimony was useful in determining the ?original (at least late 19th-century) use of the buildings. The Mill was a two storey building, comprising well dressed sandstone, with arched openings on its main façade. The survey sought to record visible features, both internally and externally in a context regime. An attempted analysis of the multi-phase character of the building, where archaeological or other evidence permitted, was also carried out. The recording of the buildings was undertaken in the following way; sketch elevations were made, feature numbers were assigned, and a more detailed description of each feature was then compiled. As in the case of the survey of the Steading proper (see EHG428), the results of the survey of the cottages and the Mill were presented in terms of elevations. No scale drawings were made, due to the constraints of both budget and time, and a series of annotated photographs were offered as illustration. <1>