Dean Village mills

Dean Village lies in a gorge of the Water of Leith, just northwest of Edinburgh's West End, Scotland, reached by Bell's Brae. Records of milling here date to the 12th century, and by the 16th century the Incorporation of Baxters, the bakers' guild of Edinburgh, operated mills along the river. At its height the village contained a number of water mills powered by the rushing river, grinding grain for the city's bakers. The area was a working industrial community until the 19th century, when steam-powered mills and changing technology reduced the trade. Dean Bridge, a high arch designed by Thomas Telford in 1832, carries the road far above the village and made the isolated hollow a landmark. Many of the remaining buildings date from the 17th to the 19th centuries, with grain stores, millhouses and carved date stones such as the Baxters' emblem of the baking peel. Well Court, built in 1884 by John Findlay, owner of The Scotsman newspaper, was designed as housing for the village's working families and is the most notable group, with a clock tower and courtyard in a Scots Baronial style. Several mills were later converted to flats and offices. The village is peaceful and photogenic, and the Water of Leith Walkway passes through it, linking the New Town with Stockbridge and further down the river. The setting has been preserved as a conservation area within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is no formal museum, so the history is read in the buildings, the stone carvings and the interpretation boards along the walkway. The site is free and open at all times.