Ballyclare Bleachworks, 51 Green Road, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, BT39 9PH

Ballyclare Bleachworks is a sprawling, mainly brick-built industrial complex fronted by a large northlight-roofed, two-storey block incorporating a distinctive square, three- to four-stage entrance tower. The complex was largely built between 1907 and 1912, but contains a central core of pre-1832 ranges, some mid to later 19th century structures, extensive 1920s sections to the south and south-east, and a now derelict detached dwelling house — formerly the owner's or manager's residence — whose main section may date from the 1700s. The site has been in industrial use since at least the 1740s, and the mill was reputedly at one point the largest bleaching establishment in Ireland. It remains one of Northern Ireland's most extensive surviving Victorian and Edwardian textile factories, and one of the best preserved, having retained most of its early 1900s footprint from the period when the works was at its height. With its distinctive serrated frontage and impressive entrance tower with a chateau-like roof, it is also one of the most visually striking examples of its type, while the variety of structures — in terms of both age and appearance — represents a historically important palimpsest that encapsulates the evolution of local textile production from relatively small-scale late Georgian beginnings to mass production and world renown by the early 20th century. Much of the site has been idle for several decades and has suffered deterioration in places; however, as a whole it appears to be largely intact, with many original — and possibly now unique — features still in place. The listing covers Blocks A through S, but excludes Block R.

SETTING

The complex is located in almost semi-rural surroundings on a slight rise to the north side of Green Road, approximately 0.5 kilometres east of Ballyclare. The western side of the works is largely hidden from the road by a thick belt of trees, while the south-east end backs directly onto the roadside for a considerable distance. The main gateway off Green Road leads north to a large concrete forecourt running parallel to the main front block, with the rest of the original works spreading behind it to the east and south-east. To the north there are several freestanding late 20th or possibly early 21st century structures, as well as a large extension from approximately the 1970s to 1980s attached to the main block. Further to the north-east, within a clump of trees, is the former residence, while to the east end of the site are the former mill ponds, now largely drained and reclaimed by vegetation. To the south — just north of the road — lies the meandering Green Burn, which the 1920s sections on that side span across. To the west of the site is a gently sloping field fringed with dense tree belts. Beyond the trees, the grounds are bounded to the west by the A57 Templepatrick Road, whose construction between 1966 and 1968 required the demolition of a smaller related mill complex on that side, which was also partly pre-1832. The ruins of some small houses that may have been associated with this demolished complex are still extant just east of the A57 flyover.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The complex consists of a conglomeration of structures of various dates, sizes and finishes, with differing roof types. In general, the more numerous sections from the 1900s and 1920s surrounding the much less extensive older buildings are built in red brick, with slated multi-northlight or multi-gabled slated roofs. Many of the older sections are considerably less extensive and are rendered or rubble-finished with slated hipped or gabled roofs.

BLOCK A

Built around 1907 to 1912, Block A is the largest single component of the whole complex. It is roughly square in plan, two storeys in height, with a multi-northlight roof — slated with projecting vents — and brick walls, with the tower set to the south of centre on the west-facing front elevation. The front elevation has the distinctive serrated profile of the northlight roof and a generous amount of formally arranged glazing, with tall windows to both floors, all retaining their original metal frames — eight-pane to the larger ground-floor openings and six-pane to the first floor — along with reducing header courses and stone sills. Each pair of windows is separated by a brick pilaster-like pier, with full-height edge piers to the tower also.

The main entrance is at ground level of the tower, approached via a short flight of stone steps enclosed by sandstone rails. The entrance itself consists of a panelled timber double door with a large three-pane overlight, all encased by a neo-early Georgian sandstone surround with pulvinated pilasters and an elongated keystone that breaks into a curved pediment. The first-floor windows above the entrance have sandstone keystones as well. High above these windows is a roundel window — or oculus — with similar keystones to each quarter. Above this, rising to the top of the tower, is a tall two-stage parapet rising from brick corbels and intercut with two projecting stone cornice-like stringcourses. Between these stringcourses, on the front face of the tower, are the large painted letters "K B LD." standing for Kirkpatrick Bros. Ltd. On the lower stage of the parapet, the pilasters each have central projections rising from corbels, which are succeeded on the uppermost stage by recesses. The parapet terminates with a scooped wall, and behind it rises a steeply pitched slated chateau-like hipped roof with a flattened ridge and decorative iron crest. The deeper north and south faces of the tower each have two roundels, with one to the east face as on the front.

The south elevation has an additional basement level, as the ground is lower on this side. At this level there is a series of three large vehicle accesses to the left and three larger openings to the right which rise into broad window openings — the lower level may be double-height on this side, though this is not certain. The accesses have a mixture of replacement roller shutters, timber-sheeted doors and fixed timber sheeting, while the windows above those to the right appear to have Perspex over the original metal frames. The first- and second-floor windows elsewhere on this elevation are similar to those on the front but of slightly different dimensions and arranged in both pairs and smaller groups of three, separated by full-height pilasters as on the front, with a series of brick corbels at the eaves.

The north elevation is lower, owing to the higher ground level on that side. It is almost entirely covered by the large extension of around 1980, apart from a small section to the far right where there are two boarded-up windows at ground-floor level and two larger windows to the first floor. The corbelled eaves, as on the south elevation, is still visible across the whole elevation.

BLOCK B

Block B lies directly to the rear — east — of Block A and also appears to date from 1907 to 1912, though it may have been built in phases, possibly three, as there are several differences in roof height, though this may simply have been part of the original design intention. The building is very large, appears to be wholly brick-built, and has a multi-northlight roof. It is roughly L-shaped, with the broad foot of the L to the west spanning the full width of the back of Block A. Heading east, the block eventually narrows and wraps around the original 19th century ranges of Blocks C and D before broadening out again to the east end of these, with a comparatively small projection of irregular quadrilateral plan to the far east that is now roofless.

Due to thick tree growth, the higher ground level and the presence of one of the large modern sheds on that side, the north elevation is difficult to see but appears to be wholly single-storey. The extension of around 1980 spans part of this elevation to the west, while to the east of it there is a long narrow addition, probably from the mid-1920s, though this is uncertain. Next to this is a small gable-ended projection with a blocked-up pedestrian doorway to its east side. The east elevation is largely obscured by trees and could not be seen. The south elevation is largely obscured by abutting blocks, with only a relatively small section to the far left — west — visible. This is also single-storey, with high-level windows separated by pilasters and eaves details as on Block A. Attached to the right — east — end of this elevation and set forward from it is a gabled section of overall similar height that may contain several levels.

BLOCKS C AND D

These conjoined parallel blocks lie at the heart of the complex and represent its earliest surviving structures. Block D to the south is probably largely pre-1832, though possibly built in stages, while Block C to the north may also be partly pre-1832 but appears to have been extended at its east end in several phases during the later 19th century. Surrounded to the east, west and north by Block B and attached to it on the north and east sides, both are long and — in the context of this site — relatively narrow two-storey ranges, with Block D narrowing further to the west. Both have double-pitched slated roofs hipped to the west, punctuated by rooflights of various sizes, with a series of ventilation turrets to the roof of Block C. Part of the far west end of Block D's roof has collapsed, and a larger area at this end is now devoid of slates.

Block C, being largely enclosed by its south neighbour and Block B, is only exposed at the west end, where the walls are rubble-constructed. The west and south elevations of Block D are fully exposed and appear to be largely rendered, with a series of uniform window openings — Georgian-like, but possibly metal-framed — to the first floor, and a variety of doorways and boarded-up windows and doors to the ground floor. The west elevation appears featureless.

BLOCKS E, F AND G

Block E is a freestanding double-pile, seemingly single-level but double-height structure immediately south of Blocks C and D. Dating probably from the 1880s to 1890s, it is brick-built with twin gables to both the north and south elevations with ball finials to the parapet ends, a series of large semicircular-headed arched vehicle openings to the west, and rows of blind segmental-headed recesses to the other sides. Close to the west side of Block E stands a tall freestanding tapering octagonal brick chimneystack — Block F — of similar date, and just north of this is a relatively small freestanding gabled structure — Block G — possibly the boiler house. This is much in the same style as Block E but with some prominent ridge vents. The main doorway, which is semicircular-headed, is to the south gable.

BLOCKS H AND I

These blocks form a long, narrow, linear arrangement along the south side of the yard, a short distance west of Blocks E to G. Block H, which may date from the 1850s to 1860s, occupies the east end and is a relatively small square structure that is seemingly single-level, rendered, with a double-pitched slated roof whose north end is hipped. The east elevation has a symmetrical arrangement of two windows and a central doorway with fanlight, with three similar windows to the north elevation. To the south it abuts a later building — Block N — and to the west it abuts a small nondescript, possibly much altered, flat-roofed single-storey section between it and Block I.

Block I, which evidence suggests is pre-1832, is a much longer range, gabled-ended and lower than Block H, being seemingly single-storey to the east and two-storey to the west where the ground level lowers. It is also rendered, with a series of uniform window openings along the north elevation, now boarded up. To the right — west — of centre on this elevation there is a full-height flat-roofed projection added in the later 19th century. To the south the block backs onto a wooded area that has obscured the entire elevation on that side.

BLOCKS J AND K

These lie immediately east of Block E. Block J is to the north and may date from the 1880s to 1890s. It is a plain two-storey triple-pile structure with rendered walls and slated gable-ended roofs with large continuous vents to two of the ridges. The west elevation appears to have a variety of openings including a large vehicle access and several windows to the ground floor, with three similar windows to the first floor, and to the far right it is abutted by a relatively small two-storey brick structure possibly added in the early 1900s. There are several windows to both floors of the north elevation similar to those on the west, while the remaining elevations are entirely covered by neighbouring structures — Block K to the south and Block R to the east.

Block K is a taller, robust cube-like brick building that appears to date from around the 1910s. Three storeys in height but possibly containing only two levels, it is of utilitarian appearance with a flat roof with a long central light, and a regular series of square windows to each floor of the west elevation along with two doorways to the ground floor. The exposed upper sections of the north and south elevations are featureless, while the east elevation has openings similar to the west, though a large part of the right half of the east elevation is covered by Block R.

BLOCKS L AND M

Block L lies immediately south of Block E and to the west of Block K. Dating from the 1920s, it is roughly rectangular in plan and brick-built with a roof that is partly slated and partly metal-clad, gabled to the west and hipped to the east, with a long ridge vent. Only the west — gabled — elevation could be seen; this is symmetrical with a vehicle entrance flanked by single windows to the ground floor and three similar windows to the upper level.

Block M abuts the south of Block L and is set between two secondary drives opening off Green Road. Also dating from the 1920s and of similar height to Block L — though probably containing only one level — it is of irregular quadrilateral plan, its south elevation following the slanting line of the road which it directly fronts onto on that side. It has brick walls to its exposed east, west and south sides, each with a series of large flat-headed panel-like recesses. The walls appear largely devoid of openings apart from a doorway to the west. The roof is multi-gabled with large north-facing rooflights and several large ridge vents; the ends of the roof are hidden by walls that rise to parapets to the east, west and south.

BLOCKS N, O AND P

These are located to the south of Block H and form another conjoined but disparate mass of approximately 1920s brick structures. Block N to the north is a relatively utilitarian two-storey flat-roofed building with what appears to be a large window — though it may originally have been a doorway — to its east elevation. The west elevation could not be seen. Block O, joined to the south of Block N, is of similar size but with a part-gabled, part-hipped slated roof cut into by Block N, and also has a pair of large metal vents. The front — west — elevation rises to a curved parapet which obscures the gable. At ground-floor level on this side there is a large vehicle access, with several boarded-up windows to the upper level.

Block P, at the south end, is very much in the same manner as Block M, only smaller. Its south side also follows the direction of the road, which it directly fronts onto. Its east elevation — facing into the secondary drive between it and Block M — appears to have a large vehicle access to the right. The smaller west elevation is featureless apart from a large flat-arched opening at its base, through which emerges the Green Burn, which this building — as well as Block M — has been built over.

BLOCK Q

Block Q occupies the south-east corner of the site, to the east of Blocks K and M and separated from these two by the easternmost secondary drive. Due to tree growth it is difficult to see the block in its entirety, but it appears to comprise various somewhat disparate sections, all seemingly of the 1920s but probably added in various phases.

The largest section to the north — Q1 — is an expansive triple-pile structure whose southernmost section is much shorter. It is roughly two storeys in height, but like many other buildings across the site probably contains only one level. Its only exposed elevation — to the west — is timber-clad, while the three sections of the roof are double-pitched and slated, though a significant area of roof at the north end has lost its slates and part of the south has collapsed.

Attached to the east side of Q1 is a lower single-storey double-pile structure — Q2 — whose skewed east side follows the course of the Green Burn. This east elevation is in brick and its uniform series of windows has been blocked up. The two double-pitched sections of the roof appear to have been covered in corrugated asbestos with long ridge vents, though much of the covering is now missing.

Attached at a right angle to the south-west corner of Q1 is a narrower double-pile section of similar height — Q3 — whose roof is the only one in the complex set on a north-south axis. This section stretches to the road, where it has a brick south elevation similar to the other blocks on the south-east facing onto the road. Attached to the east of Q3 and south of Q1 there appears to be a relatively small but taller gabled block, to the immediate east of which is what seems to be a walled yard. None of this area could be seen clearly, but from what little could be observed it all appears to be badly dilapidated.

BLOCK R

This large shed-like structure — which is excluded from the listing — is attached to the north of Block Q and sits at a low level to the south and west of the banks of the former mill pond. A building of similar plan is shown on the site on the 1921 Ordnance Survey map, but its present roof profile and the presence of metal sheeting to what could be seen of the west elevation suggest it may have been largely rebuilt.

BLOCK S

This relatively small structure lies at the south-west corner of the complex, to the south-south-west of Block A, on the other side of the main vehicle access leading through to the yard. It is a single-storey brick-built gabled structure in two sections that, with a uniform series of vehicle openings to the north elevation, appears to have served as a garage. The large west section is now roofless and derelict, while the smaller east section — which appears to be wedge-shaped in plan due to its south side being skewed — retains its slate roof.

GREEN HOUSE

Green House, the former owner's and manager's residence, is located in a wooded area to the north-east of the site. It is a relatively substantial two-storey gabled residence with a full-height return and a symmetrical three-bay Georgian-style frontage with later Victorian stucco. The building is now derelict and largely roofless.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The site has a long history of industrial activity. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1840, a flax mill was situated here approximately 100 years before that date, followed by a cotton factory. On John Lendrick's County Antrim map of 1780, a bleach mill in the possession of a Mr Haven is marked in the area — a reference to either Stephen Haven Senior or Junior. The former was a Belfast merchant and one-time Sovereign of that town who held a bleaching green, buck house and offices in Ballyclare from at least 1745. This later passed to his daughter Elizabeth Wilson, who died in 1796, and then to her descendants, the Orr family. In 1808 the property was leased out by Alexander Orr and subsequently came into the possession of brothers John (born around 1773) and Richard Bell (born 1778). John Bell was a cotton manufacturer who established and leased mills at Belfast, Larne and elsewhere. In partnership with his brother, he converted the Ballyclare concern to the bleaching of cotton, possibly around 1815. This is believed to have become the largest of John's ventures and appears to have entailed much redevelopment of the premises, as well as — by 1823 — the installation of steam power in the form of a rotary engine pioneered by the Belfast-based clockmaker and engineer Job Rider. John and Richard Bell died in 1828 and 1831 respectively, and in September 1833 Richard's son William put the business up for sale. This Cotton Bleach Works and Farm consisted of a 43-acre holding, part of which was given over to substantial and commodious buildings containing the necessary apparatus for bleaching and finishing, a water wheel of adequate dimensions, and a 14-horsepower steam engine, all capable of turning out about 7,000 pieces weekly. The premises also contained a dwelling house for a proprietor with suitable offices.

The contemporary first-edition Ordnance Survey map shows the mill as a large and somewhat sprawling structure — or rather conjoined structures — of regular plan, located roughly to the centre and eastern end of the present complex, with mill ponds of various sizes immediately to the east and north, and several separate buildings closer to the Green Burn to the south. Some distance away, along the stream further to the west roughly where the Templepatrick Road now runs, was a related smaller complex — possibly the Lower Mill — with its own ponds, and at the north-eastern corner of the site was the owner's and manager's dwelling, Green House.

For reasons not clear, the property was not sold in 1833, remaining in the possession of the Bell family. The valuation book of 1836 gives the first detailed account of the site, recording Messrs Bell's Bleaching Houses as comprising a wash and boiling house measuring 78 feet by 40 feet by 16 feet, wash houses of 105 feet by 34 feet by 21 feet, 30 feet by 23½ feet by 21 feet, and 28 feet by 49 feet by 8 feet, a steam house and store of 32 feet by 27½ feet by 24 feet, a mixture of old and new offices of 58 feet by 24 feet by 15 feet, a water wheel measuring 28 feet in diameter by 4 feet with a fall of 20 feet and a water supply available for seven to ten months of the year. The dwelling is described as an old house with new additions, all in substantial repair, with sections measuring 41½ feet by 23½ feet by 18½ feet, 17½ feet by 23 feet by 18½ feet, and 39 feet by 10 feet by 13 feet, together with outbuildings.

Given both the Ordnance Survey map evidence and this valuation, it is possible that a substantial part of the 1830s mill complex has survived, and that the now derelict dwelling house is the same building recorded at that time. Indeed, this building may be partly of 18th century construction, as a residence associated with Mr Haven is recorded on the 1780 map.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1840 describe the premises as the muslin bleaching and beetling mills, the property of Mrs Bell, set on a trifling stream known as the Bruslee Water — the present Green Burn. The establishment is described as consisting of five buildings: a building containing the beetling engines measuring 95 feet by 25 feet and comprising three floors; a wash house of one storey measuring 90 feet by 24 feet; an upper boil house of one storey measuring 60 feet by 36 feet; a storehouse of two storeys measuring 120 feet by 27 feet; and an upper wash house of two floors measuring 99 feet by 30 feet. The beetling engines were powered by a breast water wheel 20 feet in diameter by 4 feet 6 inches broad, of 10 horsepower, with a fall of water of 17 feet. The upper wash mill was driven by a breast water wheel 8½ feet in diameter and 2 feet 6 inches broad. The lower wash mill was propelled by a breast water wheel 28 feet in diameter and 5 feet broad with a fall of water of 28 feet. The water supply, described as abundant at all times, was derived from the Bruslee Water and several minor streams running into it immediately above the mills, collected in dams and reservoirs and managed with much ingenuity and economy. The concern was in excellent repair and in full work, employing 46 hands of whom only three were male.

At some point after 1840, in a trend mirroring a major shift in the textile industry throughout Ulster over the previous decade, the works moved from the bleaching and finishing of cotton to that of linen. By mid-1855 the workforce had risen to about 150 people, but this growth may not have entailed any large-scale material changes to the site, since the revised Ordnance Survey map of 1857 shows seemingly little alteration in planform compared to 1832. The second valuation of around 1862 does suggest that some new buildings may have been added by that time, and some existing structures may have been heightened. The various components are listed as a dye-linen bleachworks measuring 9 yards by 10 by 3 storeys, and 20 yards by 8 by 3 storeys; an old singeing house used as a store; an old store with attic vacant; a dressing room; a passing house; a carpenter's shop; a new store; a lapping room and boiling house; a mangle house; a steam loft; and a boiler house. The increase in rateable value from £86 9s 2d in 1836 to £126 in 1862 also points to likely expansion of the complex during this period.

In around 1865 the lease of the mill passed to an in-law of the Bells, James Whisker, whose tenure lasted until around 1878 — some sources say 1873 — when the concern was sold to local farmer John J. Kirkpatrick. He placed it in the hands of his sons James Cunningham Kirkpatrick (born around 1849, died 1904) and John Johnston Kirkpatrick (died 1926). Within a few years the new owners were upgrading the mill: the valuations record additions completed in 1882 raising the rateable value to £178, with more new buildings noted by 1885 raising the total to £198. At the same time a refurbishment or extension of Green House was carried out, as its value advanced from £4 10s to £6. A further rise in the rateable value to £210 in 1887 implies additional construction, possibly including new gasworks — which an annotation in a later valuation book appears to date to 1886 — in place of the old. A decade later saw the completion of further new buildings described as substantial but very roughly finished, including a two-storey cart shed with upper-floor workroom measuring 52½ feet by 36 feet, and a machine and carpenter's shop of 75 feet by 27 feet also of two levels.

The Kirkpatricks acquired the freehold to the works in around 1897. Around the same time, James C. Kirkpatrick retired and Kirkpatrick Bros. subsequently became a limited company and joined the Bleachers' Association, an amalgamation of largely Lancashire-based firms formed in 1900. A new electric generating plant was installed before mid-1907, and that same year saw the commencement of the extensive brick-built northlight-roofed front block and similar sections to the north, east and south-east. Completed around 1912, these engulfed the older mill structure, creating the much larger and relatively more uniform complex that survives today. Writing in February 1912, the Larne Times described this very elaborate programme of enlargements as having made the works the most extensive and most up-to-date of their kind in Ireland, with the power throughout the new building exclusively supplied by electricity, the machinery of the most modern type, the offices roomy and modern, the sanitary arrangements described as perfection, and the comfort and convenience of the workers appearing to have been the one object kept prominently in view. Despite this idyllic picture, the firm had experienced an all-out strike the previous year when all 500 workers walked out in protest at the dismissal of two employees who had allegedly refused management's request to leave the trades union. As a result of the works carried out between around 1905 and 1912, the rateable value of the mill rose more than sixfold, from £235 in the former year to £1,300 by the latter.

The 1921 Ordnance Survey map shows a radically different plan to that of 1902, with the main complex appearing broadly similar to the present, apart from the absence of those sections to the south and south-east spanning the Green Burn and directly abutting the road. Photographic evidence shows these were in place by 1929, with the valuations indicating they were added around 1924 to 1925. Kirkpatrick family interest in the firm ceased in 1932, although the name Kirkpatrick Bros. was retained. At the farewell presentation for departing directors Kenneth and Yvone Kirkpatrick — sons of the late John J. — Yvone declared the Ballyclare works to be one of the best in the British Empire, and stated that what Kirkpatrick Bros. did today, Manchester and the rest of the world would try to copy tomorrow. A foreman at the same event declared that the name of Kirkpatrick was a household word in the bleaching industry in the north of Ireland and also across the water, a byword for first-class bleaching, dyeing and finishing and for honest dealing.

Despite the gradual decline in the Northern Ireland textile industry after the Second World War, the site remained busy with 300 still employed there at the end of the 1950s. This relative stability was in large part due to adaptation and diversification: by 1959, although 90% of the cloth being finished at the works was cotton, an increasing proportion of spun rayons and other artificial fabrics was also being handled. To deal with this variety of fabrics, new machinery was installed, and the firm — by then owned by Whitecroft Industrial Holdings, as the reformed Bleachers' Association became known in 1963 — had invested in a modern laboratory to enable experimentation with the new methods of chemical and dye treatment these materials required.

By the end of 1965 the workforce had decreased to 210, of whom 150 were made redundant the following spring. This lay-off was part of a major restructuring plan involving the ending of bleaching and finishing at the plant and the commencement of manufacture of Linron, a new versatile fibre pioneered by Newry-born textile chemist and Kirkpatrick Bros. Managing Director Dr Frederick Sloan, blending linen with polyesters, acrylics and wools. During this changeover the workforce shrank to a skeleton staff of 12 by the end of 1966 but began to rise again with the start of Linron production in early 1967. Around this time also, the separate mill site to the west was demolished to make way for the new Templepatrick Road — the present A57. The new fabric was an immediate success in terms of exports, with the now re-named Kirkpatrick Linron winning a Queen's Award for Industry in 1969, and for several years the outlook for the firm was buoyant. By early 1975, however, the general economic downturn had led to the temporary closure of the site for one month, and although management reported that this was nothing to panic about as orders were picking up, Kirkpatrick Bros. closed for good in August 1976.

Later that year the complex was sold to textile printers Flaxall Products Ltd of Carrickfergus, who were using the works — or at least part of it — as their stitch-bonded non-woven plant by at least April 1979. It may have been around this time that the large brick extension was added to the north side of the front block; map evidence shows it was present by at least 1982. Flaxall continued to operate from the site until at least 2002, though it appears that much of the original complex had become unused long before this, the company possibly operating from the brick extension and perhaps the large detached metal-clad sheds erected around the 1990s to the north and north-east. By 2006 the company's main Carrickfergus factory had closed, and the Ballyclare site presumably ceased operations at this time also. Since then, although some of the more recently built metal sheds appear to have remained in use by various businesses and organisations, the rest of the complex has remained vacant, while Green House — which may have been last occupied in the later 1960s or 1970s — is now derelict and roofless.