Huxter Clack Mills

Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia

The three Huxter Clack Mills.
Image Copyright Colin Park and licensed for reuse under this Commons Licence.

Two of the mills
Image Copyright David Medcalf and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Clack mills (sometimes also: click mills) represent a type of traditional water mills. Before the introduction of the big estate mills (like Quendale Water Mill or Weisdale Mill) they were quite common all over Shetland (and Orkney).

Their most interesting feature is a horizontal water wheel to power the mill, quite similar to older types of small Norwegian mills.

Here at Huxter in Sandness we find three mills built in a line over the same burn.

The lower mill Image Copyright Stuart Wilding and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons Licence.

Inside the lower mill Image Copyright Stuart Wilding and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The wheel in one of the mills Image Copyright David Medcalf and licensed for reuse under this Commons Licence.

Huxter Water System

Huxter Clack Mills - Water System

The aerial view shows clearly that the Huxter Clack Mills are set aside of the burn between the Loch of Huxter and the coast.

Each mill is linked with the burn by a stone-lined lade. Sluices and by-boards allow to regulated the flow of the water either along the original bed of the burn or through the lade directly to the mill and whenever needed.