Quite rightly, much of the effort to save Knockando Woolmill concentrates on the Mill itself and the fabulous old machinery.
There are, however, other gems on the site, the oldest of which is the Woolmill Cottage.
A simple three-roomed cottage, it was built between 1800 and 1830. It originally had a thatched roof although this has been replaced by corrugated asbestos, and luckily the building is pretty dry.
The last inhabitant, Mrs Smith, died in 1915 and the interior has changed little over the succeeding 90 years. The Belfast sink, striped roller blinds are still in place and the cast-iron range are still in the kitchen along with 14 layers of wallpaper. (Was this early insultation?)
The stone walls of the living room are finished in a tasteful pink distemper and the tasselled fringe still graces the living room mantlepiece.
The six panel doors are curiously refined for such a modest house; an added mystery is that they are only 1 inch thick and all the locks are fitted upside down.
The external finishes of the Cottage have excited the Scottish Lime Centre . The walls are well built of granite field stones coated with a pink lime harling. Perhaps this should be called the Pink Cottage?
The Scottish Lime Centre hope to run a master craftsman course in lime harling this autumn, using the Cottage as the basis for learning. The trick will be to find the same pink aggregate in local burns to colour the harling.
