Auchinbaird Windmill

Auchinbaird was a nearby farm and the name is often applied to this vaulted tower windmill, a construction type that is rare in the UK outside Scotland It was converted into a dovecote sometime before 1860 with nesting boxes and a potence. Dovecotes or 'Doocots' were a feature of many country estates. Such buildings provided a valuable source of fresh meat and eggs, adding variety to meals, especially in the winter months. The large amounts of droppings, which built up on the doocot's floors, made a valuable general fertiliser and was also used in the production of gunpowder and in such processes as the dyeing of linen and in tanning leather. Windmills were often built in areas of low…