Auchinbaird Windmill, Sauchie, Clackmannanshire
Auchinbaird Windmill, also known as Sauchie Doocot or Dovecote, was a late 17th or early 18th century vaulted tower windmill built into a low ridge located on (what is now) the outskirts of the town of Sauchie, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Sources disagree as to its original use, being either a grain mill or a water pump, however it bis established that it was later converted into a dovecote, abandoned at an unknown date and later conserved as a landscape feature and visitor attraction.
The structure stands on the edge of ridge at a height of 53 metres or 173 feet. The circular walled shell of this late 17th or early 18th century vaulted tower windmill has red sandstone rubble walls rising from the partly exposed foundations. The tower does not appear to taper towards the top, but may have been reduced in height.
Looking West
The original wooden windcap that would have formed a third story and the wood and fabric sails are absent. It had a well-constructed vaulted basement and access pend area. The stone tower had two storeys and was later topped by a brick built domed roof with an oculus or circular hole and a castellated parapet. A pair of opposed doorways are set at ground level and there appears to have been one small north facing opening on the ground floor together with a larger south opening window on the first floor. In the early 19th century, the windmill tower was converted for use as a dovecot or doocot with the aforementioned pierced brick built domed roof added, a so-called decorative 'rat course' and a castellated parapet. The area below the tower connecting with the vaulted entrance has been infilled.
It would have had a potence (pivoting ladder) of some description, used to reach the nesting boxes that have since been removed. It is now a scheduled monument.
Looking East
Auchinbaird was a nearby farm and the name is often applied to this vaulted tower windmill, a construction type that is rare in the UK outside of Scotland. It was converted into a dovecote at some point before 1860 with nesting boxes and a moveable internal access ladder. Dovecotes or 'Doocots' were a feature of many country estates. Such buildings provided a valuable source of fresh meat and eggs, adding variety to meals, especially in the winter months. The large amounts of droppings, which built up on the doocot's floors, made a valuable general fertiliser and was also used in the production of gunpowder and in such processes as the dyeing of linen and in tanning leather.
Windmills were often built in areas of low rainfall or where the land was flat and the water current sluggish, however in this location the advantage was the expectation of suitable winds in post-harvest months. It is not at present known when Auchinbaird dovecote was abandoned.
The mill is part of Clackmannanshire's 'Tower Trail' and is signposted from the main road. The dedicated paths leading up the hill are not at present maintained (2022). The two facing doorways are closed over by double metal grills. The vault entrance is covered with double metal grills and has become overgrown with vegetation, but is in good condition. The vaulted area is infilled below the mill tower. The one north opening is blocked, but the single larger one is open, facing south.