This thread was originally written and published in August 2022.

Like many of you, I like old lades¹ and watermills. So imagine my surprise when I was cycling along the street one day, minding my own business, when Lo! and behold, one that has been covered underground for who knows how long is suddenly sitting there in the sunshine for all to see.

1. no, not old “ladies”, but lades; the Scots word for a lead or leat, the channel diverted off of a river upstream to supply the wheel of a watermill ↩︎

The above walls belong to the former Canon Mill (on Canon Street, Canonmills) and its lade and wheel pit have been exposed here by building works and were now very visible up close. The lade channel is much more obvious from the other side, it ran clean underneath the mill house:

Ainslie’s 1804 town plan shows the highlighted Great Lade coming off the Water of Leith as far upstream as the Water of Leith Village (what we now call Dean Village), running to Canonmills Loch and then through the mill (where the red arrow is), returning to the river just north. No prizes for guessing from where Eyre Place took its name – (Mr. Eyre’s land ownership noted on the below plan was James Eyre, a Canongate brewer who built a house here which had a brewery on site).

Looking closer, we can see the loch, the lade, the outline of the mill (coloured in red) and of course Mr. Eyre’s Canon Mill House.

We can see the detail of the substantial community of Canomills in the beautifully illustrated 1759 Feuing map of the North of Edinburgh by Robinson and Fergus. The mill is highlighted, as are four structures crossing the lade, appearing like fingers.

The 1849 OS Town plan was surveyed after Canonmills Loch had been drained and infilled. Note this map has been rotated by 90 degrees, north is on the left and south on the right. The lade ran along the south edge of what is now Eyre Place. The demolished building whose remains we were looking at in the photographs is highlighted in red below.

Now we know what we are looking at and where we are, let’s look closer at some more photos. Below you can see the definite curved masonry on both side walls of the lade which I assume is from the base of the wheel pit.

The picture below highlights how the water would have flowed in blue, with a possible base for the wheel axle in red. These weren’t the most efficient sorts of wheels, but were suited for situations where there was relatively little vertical drop between the header source and the tail race (the part of the lade that discharged the water back into the source after it had been through the wheel).

I think we can assume this was an a breastshot wheel, with the water running under the millwheel in a close-fitting channel where you can see the lade clearly dip downwards in a curving manner.

Slightly further downstream and underneath the concrete apron of some old car parking bays is a large void, directly in line with the lade :

The south portion of the late 17th / early 18th century mill building that face onto Eyre Place was renovated and restored in 1987 and was used until recently as commercial premises. The demolished part was much more substantially rebuilt in the past and had modern extensions and additions.

And thank you to the initiative of Andrew Henderson (@hendo31) for popping along with his drone, we can see everything as glorious birdseye views. I am indebted to Andrew for taking, sharing and allowing me to use these amazing photos.

Milling ceased here in 1865. Its lade was increasingly hidden in a culvert and then built over but as late as 1903 the part alongside Eyre Place and the vacant footprint of the former Canonmills Loch, now King George V park, was still there. James Skene’s sketch of Canonmills in 1818 shows the tree-fringed loch, the New Town in the background (to the south), a smoking malt kiln from Eyre’s brewery and a corner of the mill on the right. Note the bridges over the lade as it enters and exits the loch.

An 1836 watercolour by Mary Webster shows the loch looking north towards the mill (behind the bridge). The tenements of Canon St. are to its left, with the red tile roof of the carpet factory on the right. I’m assuming the trees on the left are the same ones as in Skene’s sketch.

The below engraving is from 1830 by J. Kidd, in Old & New Edinburgh by James Grant. Canon Mills House can be seen on the left of those big trees on the west corner of the loch. The owner was the aforesaid James Eyre, a brewer from the Cowgate who had it built and it incorporated a brewery, the malt house of which is in Skene’s picture. The Canon Mill is to the right of the bridge.

It is notable how even at this time the area is largely rural in character. There is a corn field on the banks of the loch with stacks being piled up, and extensive fields to the north towards Inverleith and Bangholm.

Milling here goes back to the time of King David I, who gave the lands to the canons of the Augustinian Abbey at Holyrood (hence the name, they were the Canons’ Mills). This area was then in the jurisdiction of the Barony of Broughton. The Incorporation of Baxters (Bakers) of the Canongate were obliged to use the Canon Mill to grind their corn. Their land (meeting house) was next door, a lintel stone still surviving in the uninspiring environs of a petrols station now on the site.

A painting by John Knox, probably 1810-1820 shows the original Canonmills Bridge over the Water of Leith. The north of the Mill is the building beyond the peak of the bridge, with the red roof and below the leftmost promontory of Calton Hill. The buildings on the right are wash houses alongside the river.

And remarkably for the early 1840s, a photograph of the area, those big trees again, and the mill lade entering the loch. The wall on the left separated the lade from Eyre Place.

For those wondering, the rear of the mill has been demolished as part of planning application 18/07826/FUL for “Change of use from office to residential. Partial demolition with retention of corner building and new extension to accommodate 11no. new flats and commercial space.” The City archaeologist recommended refusal, however the building was neither listed nor in a conservation area so there were not grounds to refuse. It is my understanding that the walls of the rear building were “not good” and the stones will be included in the rebuild. The Victorian shop façade will also go, and the window openings will be moved to make them more regularly spaced. A new roof extension is included.

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