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NEEDS PICTURE – Moray woolmill celebrated as one of Europe’s best restoration projects

Knockando Woolmill, Aberlour, which won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage. Front L-R: Lord Cameron of Lochbroom and Dr Jana Hutt. Back L-R: Tom Duff and Dr Peter Collins, in front of the working water wheel. Picture by Gordon Lennox
Knockando Woolmill, Aberlour, which won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage. Front L-R: Lord Cameron of Lochbroom and Dr Jana Hutt. Back L-R: Tom Duff and Dr Peter Collins, in front of the working water wheel. Picture by Gordon Lennox

A Moray woolmill, restored in a £3.2million initiative, has won a European conservation award.

The Knockando mill was one of only four UK projects to gain the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage and Europa Nostra Award.

The accolade marks a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the business, which was housed amidst crumbling sheds only six years ago.

Yesterday, a plaque was unveiled from behind colourful material spun at the historic site to recognise the dramatic transformation.

Jana Hutt, project director, described the 200-year-old mill as “a heap of crumbling sheds held together by crumbling paint and machine oil” before the restoration began.

She added: “Everything was on the verge of falling down. It was only one machine, nothing else was working.

“The only access we had into it was down a path with only a four-foot clearance under a wall.

“It’s just amazing to think how much it has changed. Restoring it will allow us to keep the traditional skills alive. We should even have our first young apprentice starting this year.”

The initial steps towards restoring the dilapidated buildings as a visitor centre by the Knockando Woolmill Trust were taken in 2000, with construction beginning 10 years later.

In granting the award, the jury described the survival of the mill as worthy of international recognition while praising its exceptionally high-quality textiles.