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Creech Mill and Sorbie HistoryOur current house and the cottages which are formed around the courtyard were part of the original Sorbie creamery. Most of it was derelict when we came here in 1999. The cottages were part of the farm steading including a stable. Restoration of the cottages has taken over a year, complete with kitchen extensions added with local stone. The car park at the side once held pig stys, and these pigs were fed on the whey, a by product of the cheese making process. The large house was a former barn and store, and home to a barn owl. The large windows were the former loading doors. Across the road, Station House, was the old train station connecting with Whithorn or Garlieston. Milk churns from the creamery were stacked on the platform awaiting collection by the steam train. Nowadays you can buy hand crafted summer furniture there. In the 1970's a modern creamery was built nearby, providing local employment. One of the contracts involved making tinned cheese for our soldiers in the Gulf War. Local jobs were lost when the decision was made to close the creamery, and many people relocated to Wales where alternative work was offered. The creamery building is now occupied by Galloway Granite. Not only monumental masons, they also make superb worktops and many of the granite name signs which you will see at the end of farm lanes. This area was devastated by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001, and some farmers had granite stones engraved to record the numbers of cattle and sheep lost to the disease. These stones are now sited on the farms. During the 19th century Sorbie was renowned for damask. The cottages in the main street were nearly all former weavers and damask workers homes and workrooms. In 1834 Sorbie won a prize of £40 for having the best woven cloth in Scotland.
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