May 2018 Picture of the Month

Preston Mill in East Lothian is one of the gems of the National Trust for Scotland. The mill dates back centuries and has had a fascinating history. My recent interest in it relates to an article I have been working on telling the story of the engineer John Rennie which will appear in issue 99 of Scotland Magazine. Rennie's interest in engineering was fostered at an early age by the millwright Andrew Meikle who operated nearby Houston Mill and worked for a time maintaining Preston Mill. Meikle took the young Rennie under his wing teaching him the fundamentals of the millwright's trade, and Rennie may well have worked with him maintaining Preston Mill's ancient machinery.