Pitmiddle Sawmill March 1915
This is one of two sawmill photographs found in the FC Bennachie Forestry Office, Aberdeenshire but no details are known about the location or the people.
From the limited view in the photograph there is no indication of the size of the mill or whether it was a double bench construction. The number of workers would indicate the latter especially as there are two with sawmill aprons.
The site looks remarkably tidy, the piles of timber products are impeccable stacked and the roof boards to the right hand side are a work of perfection. The workers are well turned out in traditional garb for the period and although well worn still look very presentable.
The sawmill would have taken the name of the wood where it was currently set up and so far only one Pitmiddle Wood, between Perth and Dundee, has been identified. There may well be others.
Can anyone indentify any of the workers?
The orginal photograph was taken by professional photographer J Kelly of 25 York Place, Perth.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Groups of people, Sawmills, pulp mills, chipboard mills, Tools, equipment and clothing
Group: Forestry in Action - 1908 pictures
3 Comments
I have had a wee look through the maps to see if there is any indication of where this mill might have been located; following on from the details you posted from Alasdair Nicoll. There is nothing apparent on the range of maps, I am sorry to say, but the up to date aerial photography has one area which might prove ‘interesting’ or a red herring.
Furthermore, I went to the ‘Scotland’s People’ website (increase in unit prices and units required for documents since the revised website came on-line!) and had a look through the ‘Valuation rolls’, viewing the years 1905 “ 1930. Surprisingly, the year 1905 showed no specific valuation for Pitmiddle Wood considering the activity evident from the 1915 image, there is again no specific valuation for the woodland in 1915. Purchase and felling must have started after the roll was made. In 1920 and 1925 a “R. Paterson, wood merchant, 10, Thistle Street, Aberdeen”, is recorded as being the “Proprietors” of “Woodland, Pitmiddle Hill”, the yearly values being £42.10.0 and £24.0.0 respectively. In the 1930 valuation the “Proprietor for occupier” of “Woodland, Pitmiddle Hill”, changes to a “George M. Lamond, Annity Cottage, Scone, the yearly value being £19.0.0; also he is listed as being the “Proprietor for occupier” of “Grazing Land, Pitmiddle Hill”, with a yearly value of £40.0.0 amended downwards to £31.0.0 and a Rateable Value of £5.0 amended downwards to £3.15. This would lead to the conclusion that the saleable timber had been removed by 1930 and the re-growth of the ground vegetation in the absence of tree cover was now more valuable than the remaining trees.
Bill had kindly accessed the Valuation roles of the County of Perth, the Parish of Kinnaird.
Comment left on 02 October 2016 at 08:29 by Norman Davidson
https://i0.wp.com/holeousia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/pitmiddle-village-1861.jpg?ssl=1 Comment left on 12 April 2020 at 13:48 by Ross Crampsey
The photos are extremely interesting. One of our former residents, the late Dr. Mary Young of Guardswell, Kinnaird, was an authority on Pitmiddle and would have been fascinated by these image - sadly, she passed away a few years ago. Mary wrote a number of scholarly papers on Pitmiddle and the Abernyte Parish in her lifetime.
As an amateur historian, I have been carrying on this work and am producing a book for the 50th anniversary of our last "history of Abernyte Parish" publication.
We do believe the images are of "our" Pitmiddle, even though no map has ever marked a sawmill, because in a publication of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science titled "Pitmiddle Village and Elcho Nunnery" it states:
"The sale of timber from Pitmiddle Hill during the Great War led to great damage to the roads, or tracks, leading to Pitmiddle, especially that by Sunnyhall to Kinnaird village."
The time periods match up, and there are still large areas free of trees where there were once forests - many stumps can still be seen.
Identifying the gentlemen involved may prove troublesome, presuming they're locals. If we can put these images up for the community, perhaps someone may be able to shed some light on it!
Kindest regards,
Alasdair Nicoll,
Abernyte, Perthshire.
Comment left on 01 October 2016 at 19:49 by Norman Davidson