Located within the parish of Kilmory,[1] Pirnmill is flanked by several clachans, including Whitefarland to the south, Thunderguy to the north, and the original settlement of Penrioch (Scottish Gaelic: Peighinn Riabhach) above the village.
Etymology
Unlike many of the other villages on the island, Pirnmill's etymology is not rooted in the Gaelic or Norse heritage of Arran; rather Pirnmill takes its name from a mill that historically stood there until 1840, which produced pirns (wooden rods used in weaving) for Clarks (latterly Coats) of Paisley, which was operational from 1780 to 1840. The mill closed when there were no more supplies of wood within a reasonable distance.[2]
History
Early inhabitants of Pirnmill made a living through seasonal herring fishing or crofting, but later the village became a tourist destination, with many Clyde steamers plying between Glasgow and Campbeltown. The village was served by small ferry boats that would be rowed out to the steamers, and visitors would have to decant into the small ferry to be rowed ashore. The last of these local ferry men was Archibald Currie (Sunnyside), who eventually fitted a small engine to one of his boats. The steamers were stopped during the Second World War and never really reinstated. The overwhelming majority of visitors now come to the village by road, with a few arriving by private yacht.
The jetty below the shop was built in the 1930s to make it easier for visitors (and cargo) to disembark from the small ferries. Prior to this there were only duckboards.
Pirnmill formerly had two church buildings. The Church of Scotland met in a building to the south of the village, until it closed in the 1990s. A memorial to Rev John Kennedy of Lenimore remains. It is made of white granite in Gothic style, and carries the date 1910. It is a category B listed structure.[3] A little further to the north is a building dating from the 1920s, erected by members of the Free Church of Scotland, who previously had worshipped at Lenimore. It was initially a church hall, but was used for worship after the Lenimore building was demolished. The Church of Scotland leased the building from the 1990s, when their original building closed, to 29 January 2023 when the church closed. It is a rectangular structure made of corrugated iron, with a concrete base and asbestos roof tiles. Internally it is lined with yellow pine boards. It was a temporary building, of a type that could be readily ordered from a catalogue in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Few such buildings remain, because of their temporary nature, and this one has been little altered from its original condition. The building is grade C listed.[4]
On the southern edge of the village is the turbine house for the Dougarie Hydro-Electric Scheme. The Dougarie Estate carried out flow measurement in 2008 and 2009 on four streams, and in 2012 secured planning permission for a scheme utilising the waters of the Allt Gobhlach. During the planning stages, the estate tried to keep residents informed, posting a document in the Post Office, and sending a copy to everyone who lived nearby. The plans were generally well-received by the villagers, and the power station, which generates 500 kW and feeds it into the National Grid, was commissioned in June 2013.[5]
Economy
Ancient burial ground on the coast, just north of Pirnmill. Kintyre is in the background.
Pirnmill has a village shop, restaurant and a B&B, as well as a monthly 'Pop Up Pub'.[6] Two miles (three kilometres) north of the village, halfway between Pirnmill and Catacol, there is an ancient burial ground close to the shore at Rhubha Airigh Bheirg.
Notable people
Flora Drummond - suffragette. Flora was born in Manchester in 1878, but the family moved to Arran within a year of her birth, and lived at Pirnmill. She was educated on Arran, but moved away to Glasgow when she was 14.[7]
