page_title: Kilbirnie Loch
section_title: Bark Mill
hierarchical_section_title: Kilbirnie Loch / Mains / Bark Mill
caption_attribution_description: English: The ruins of the Bark Mill, Mains Burn, Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland.
context_page_description: Kilbirnie Loch, is a freshwater Loch situated in the floodplain between Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It runs south-west to north-east for almost 2 km, is about 0.5 km wide for the most part and has an area of roughly 3 km². It has a general depth of around 5.2 metres to a maximum of around 11 metres. The loch is fed mainly by the Maich Water, which rises in the Kilbirnie Hills near Misty Law, and is drained by the Dubbs Water that runs past the Barr Loch into Castle Semple Loch, followed by the Black Cart, the White Cart at Renfrew and finally the River Clyde. The boundary between East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, in the vicinity of the loch, runs down the course of the Maich Water along the northern loch shore to then run up beside the Dubbs Water.
context_section_description: A Bark Mill, most likely built by the Muirs of Mains House, is marked on OS maps, powered by the combined Mains and Bath Burns with mill ponds indicated. The mill produced ground bark for use in the Beith tanneries using bark from the old oak trees that forested the loch side. Later the mill became a furniture factory run by Matthew Pollock who applied the use of machinery to help with the manufacture of furniture in 1858. This site was one mile from the Beith town centre. The Glasgow & South Western Railway Company constructed a siding, known as 'Muir's siding' for the convenience of transporting the finished products, etc. However the site was isolated and inconvenient for the workers and was eventually sold to Robert Balfour, who later built a new factory near Beith Town Station, the West of Scotland Cabinet Works. The Muirs had been tanners for many generations and around 1791 John Muir and Sons, Tanners, Curriers, and Fancy Leather Manufacturers had become established at the Bath Lane works. William Muir of Mains joined as a partner in 1846.
caption: Ruins of the old Bark Mill
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