In 1938, the barley production machinery was removed to make space for more storage of oats and this refurbishment also introduced an early electrical motor to drive an automatic oat-drying kiln. This freed up all of the waterwheel’s power to sift, dress and grind oats up until 1953.
Business started to falter for the Lower City Mill at this time, as demand for oatmeal was falling with the rise in popularity of British-grown wheat for bread and the competition from larger, more modern, producers who could offer oatmeal at reduced rates and produce it much faster than the 150-year-old mill machinery could. Two more electric motors were installed in a bid to upgrade the system which gave it another lease of life until it inevitably ceased production in 1966.
The drive for modernity and the demand for construction space around the increasingly growing city saw several of the surrounding mills and granaries demolished during the 1960s and 70s, although it should be noted that they outlived, for a time, the textile industries which had long since been abandoned in favour of overseas production. In the 1980s however, the value of preserving the Mill’s cultural, architectural and mechanical heritage was seen by the then Perth & Kinross District Council and, with the support of The Gannochy Trust and a number of other agencies, a complete overhaul of the mill was pioneered which saw a renewal of the mill’s operation once more.
During the late 80s and through the 90s, it produced mainly wheat flour for a local bakery and alongside the building’s accommodation of new craft workshops and a tearoom, it welcomed many visitors to see its historically authentic operation. Its uses again changed in 2001 when it became the home to the Perth Visitor Information Centre and the Perthshire Tourist Board, and then VisitScotland until June 2019. An increasingly rare historic asset, the mills retain significant potential to contribute to Perth’s wider cultural offer as a modern city with its roots in a proud past.
The structure has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2012 but in November of 2019, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust have taken on care of the building both as office space and with a vision for a sustainable new future for the building. We are developing a project to repair the historic fabric of the building and to record and restore the internal machinery alongside our engagement work with conserving traditional building skills and promoting the retention and proper upkeep of heritage buildings.