Whin-Mills in Aberdeenshire

Abstract

Until comparatively recently much of the land now in cultivation was waste and the methods of cultivation were primitive. During times of scarcity whins or gorse came to be used as animal feed. Sheep browse only upon the tender shoots of the year, but\r\ngeneral whin-cutting included the more woody portions of the plant and demanded, that the spines should be destroyed if injury to the feeders was to be avoided. So whin-bruising had to be undertaken. This led to the development of a series of simple crushing implements and other tools. These were the flail, wooden mallet and block, roller type of whin-mill and wheel or grindstone shaped whin-mill. A survey of sites where some of these survive is included.