Skerries Mills

Skerries is a village on the east coast of Ireland 30 km north of Dublin where much of the land was owned for many centuries by the Augustinian Priory of Holmpatrick. Three historic mills that once ground wheat, oats and barley, survive in the area and are interpreted for visitors. The four-storey water mill has an overshot wheel that works three sets of stones, a winnower and a sack hoist. The Small Windmill is 12.2 m high with a thatched cap, has four sails, and stands on the site of a prehistoric fort. The Great Windmill probably dates from the late eighteenth century and was rebuilt with five sails after storm damage in the 1840s. It is 15 m high, and has two sets of stones. An adjacent bakery dates from the 1840s. The mills all ceased working in the early twentieth century, but the bakery continued until 1980s. Visitors can take guided tours of the mills and there are also opportunities to explore the mill ponds and surviving wetlands.