ScottishArchitecture.com

Linda Fabiani MSP, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, has opened Stanley Mills, Historic Scotland’s newest visitor attraction and education centre, set on the banks of the River Tay. The official opening took place on Tuesday 6 May where the Minister met staff from the site and key people involved in the Stanley Mills Bell Mill project, before having a special tour.

The £4.7 million project to breathe new life into Sir Richard Arkwright’s original cotton mill began in 1995. Since then the Bell Mill and Mid Mill have been conserved and converted into a new visitor attraction and education centre that examine the history of the people, products and power of the mills. This exciting new development features displays, interactives, exhibits and video footage that unravel an important part of Scotland’s industrial heritage.

During her visit the Minister will have the opportunity to engage with the hands-on interactive elements, examine some of the machinery formerly used at the mills and enjoy the specially-commissioned poetry from Edinburgh-based poet Aonghas MacNeacail, which tells the story of 18th-century farm workers who travelled down through the Perthshire glens during the Industrial Revolution

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has supported the redevelopment of the Stanley Mills complex, including the conservation and adaptation of two later mill buildings into housing, with grants totalling over £10 million. 

On Sunday 18 May there is a special event taking place at Stanley Mills. A Festival of the River will feature activities and events for the whole family, and admission to the attraction will be free on this day.