Annotation:Mill of Lagan (The)

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MILL OF LAGGAN. Scottish, Reel. F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by William Marshall (1748-1833).

A Scottish fiddler and composer, Marshall is most famous for his many fine strathspeys. Marshall worked for much of his life for the Duke of Gordon as the Steward of his Household, and it is fortunate that the Duke was an enthusiastic supporter and patron of Marshall's music. Moyra Cowie, in her book The Life and Times of William Marshall (1999), says the mill, which dates to the 18th century, is on the Dullan water (Moray, formerly Banffshire), although it is now almost a ruin. Interestingly, Cowie says that farmers in those days were assigned a mill to which they took their corn. According to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland [1] "The Mill of Laggan was in use in the 18th to 19th century and was a one-story and attic rubble building on an L plan, now gutted and used as a shed. There was a start and awe wheel."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Marshall, Fiddlecase Edition, 1978; 1822 Collection, p. 52. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 207.

Recorded sources: Culburnie COL 102, Alasdair Fraser & Jody Stecher - "The Driven Bow" (1988).