The Mill House, in Insch, is a home with some very unique quirks. For offers over £465,000, you can skip the letter box and have your post delivered in a different way – to your own postbox set into the front gate.
Owner Cromar Collie said: “The postman is rather tickled that he posts my mail back through a red royal mail postbox.”
Cromar retired to the Mill House after a life of travelling. He has been all over the world – Hong Kong, India, New York and the Middle East to name just a few of the places – working in banking and law.
He has owned the Mill House for 14 years, since its renovation in 2002. Built in 1861, the Kemnay granite B-listed home was originally a husk mill.
There are two stages to milling; the first part is the removal of the husks, which would have been at the Mill House, and then the flour mill converts the kernels into flour.
The original flour mill was located across the road but burnt down in 1961, ending the life of both mills. The business went to other mills in the area and the husk mill became a builders’ merchants before being converted.
Living areas are spread out over three floors with four public rooms. The entrance hallway has oak beams and archways and seems very like a mediaeval castle inside.
Cromar has added his own touches which are in keeping with the character of the building. The magnificent lounge has a dual aspect to catch the summer sun and is very elegant. An ornate fireplace with a tartan backdrop has also been added and is a genuine 1870s fireplace from Scotland.
Cromar has also made another very valuable addition to the house – a Victorian bar.
“It was a case of, ‘what else to do with a rather large room on the ground floor?’” he said.
“Every person would love to have their own bar, and I’ve got one.”
This room is his favourite, and is a triumph when entertaining guests. On the stools, he has placed horse saddles to sit on.
He said: “It’s just fun to sit on a saddle at a bar.”
At the side of the room there are original church windows, from a church in southern Scotland.
Cromar said: “I put mirrors behind them to give a feeling of greater space. But they are gothic frame windows.”
Genuine Victorian pub swinging doors lead into the games room. Looking from the outside there is a garage door, but inside there is no garage. The listing of the house meant that no external changes could be made, but internally it is now the games room.
Another gothic quirk of the house is the hidden doorways. The TV lounge and the kitchen are both concealed behind the magic bookcases.
“We’ve got two occasions in the house – one on the middle floor and one on the ground floor at the bar – where the door is full of books,” he added.
“They are made to look like bookshelves. And that leads into the toilet and the kitchen behind, so it’s a fun thing to do as well.”
A staircase with oak banisters leads to the upper landing with an ornate oak wall panel. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms with the option of turning the study into a fifth, single bedroom.
The master bedroom has huge wall-to-wall walk-in wardrobes and an en suite bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath.
Bedroom two is also en suite. All of the upstairs bedrooms are double and have built-in wardrobes so there is plenty of hanging space for party clothes.
Mr Collie is very flexible with the furniture in the home. If a new owner wanted to purchase any luxurious additions, such as the pool table, the Jacuzzi or the high driftwood dining chairs, then he is quite open to offers.
The Mill House is right in the middle of the village. A train station is only 400 yards away and means that Aberdeen can be reached within half an hour.
Standing in the living room, Cromar said: “I’m actually looking out over Bennachie. I can actually see one of the tops of Bennachie from the TV lounge.
“It’s stopped snowing and it’s rather beautiful right now.”
The home has a large private garden with decking for entertaining guests.
The original wheel of the mill no longer exists, but there is the stream that would have once powered both the husk and the burnt down flour mill.
“People say that they sleep really well here when they open the windows,” said Cromar.
“There is a little babbling brook, a stream, running right beside the house, being a mill. The mill might no longer be there, but the stream is there and it gives them a sort of lullaby at night.”
For more information, contact Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace on 01467 629300.
