An interesting photograph here from Saturday’s Heritage Open Weekend visit to the Golden Mill in Castletown.

It shows the tags that used to be put on the sack of grain brought in for milling, each with the name of the farmer who had grown it.

There’s some very familiar farming names here.

The mill was one of several water mills on the Silverburn River, some built in the 18th and early 19th century. The current Golden Meadow Mill was built in about 1815 on the site of earlier mills dating back to the start of the 1500s or even the 1400s.

The mill had two water wheels, one smaller than the other, which stand side by side between the threshing mill and the main mill building.

The original building had become derelict but was rebuilt in the 1980s by Tony O’Sullivan and it was his grandson, Jacob, who showed visitors around.

It is believed that it was given the name ’Golden Mill’ because of the flower-rich water meadows surrounding it. These protected Castletown from flooding, and in turn provided rich pasture, used as common grazing land for the people of the town.

The cows would be stabled at the back of local houses, taken to the water meadows each day, then brought home each evening for milking.

The milk would then be sold to the people of Castletown.