Newmilns - Etymology

Etymology

Whilst the meaning of the name Newmilns appears self-evident, little evidence remains to suggest how the town came to be known as such. The name itself appears to have its origins in Old English, niwe (new) / mylen (mill), so can probably be dated to the Old English period (c. mid 5th - mid 12th centuries). The earliest known recording of the name appears as Nawemeln in 1126, with the use of the plural s dating from at least as early as the 15th century.

Of the mills themselves, little now remains. The last in operation was Pate's Mill, which sat on Brown Street opposite the train station (present-day Vesuvius building). Famed in Allan Ramsay's poem, "The Lass o Pate's Mill", it was demolished in 1977 and all that now remains is part of the mill's exterior wall. The only mill building still intact can be found at the foot of Ladeside. Now used as housing, Loudoun Mill (formerly the Meal Mill / Corn Mill of Newmilns) was in use from 1593 until it stopped producing meal in the 1960s. In 1970, the mill wheel was removed and the lade filled in, with the only remaining suggestion of the site's former use being a motto, "No Mill, No Meal - JA 1914" inscribed on the outer wall.