The Watermill, Main Street, Crawfordsburn, Bangor, Co Down, BT19 1JF

The Watermill

This water-powered corn mill and associated store complex, dating from the later 18th or early 19th century, is situated on the right bank of the river behind Main Street, positioned at the top of a high double waterfall discharging into Crawfordsburn Glen. The complex was converted to living accommodation in the mid-20th century. Apart from the stone walls, all original fabric, fixtures, fittings, and milling plant have been replaced with new materials that do not replicate the original features.

The mill complex comprises three sections: the former corn mill at the west end, an infill section in the middle, and a former store to the east.

The corn mill section is a two-storey building aligned northeast to southwest, with a two-storey return along its northwest side, now converted into a self-contained dwelling. It has a replacement pitched tile roof, cement-rendered chimneys, and boxed eaves. The walls are of unrendered random rubble. Openings are generally square-headed with replacement frames. The southwest gable features two tall spoke-headed windows to its south-facing side. Door and window openings to the ground floor of this elevation are later insertions; Ordnance Survey maps show the waterwheel was originally positioned on this gable. Due to sloping topography, the northeast and southeast elevations are only visible at first-floor level.

The infill section is a two-storey structure aligned parallel with the mill, now converted into a dwelling internally amalgamated with the store. The upper floor only is visible on the southeast elevation. The roof matches the mill section. The ground floor is of unrendered random rubble; a break in the stonework suggests the end wall is a relatively modern extension. The upper part is rendered with cement finished to mimic hung slates, though its underlying fabric is uncertain and is probably a mid-20th century rebuild, possibly in concrete blockwork. A projecting cement-rendered chimney breast to the southeast elevation has a window cut through its base. Openings to the northwest and southwest elevations are semicircular; those to the southeast are flat-headed; all contain modern window frames. The only ground-floor opening is a rectangular former stone-lined headrace channel at head level on the northwest elevation, which was part of the headrace feeding the external waterwheel on the mill's southwest gable. The race was fed from a pond on the opposite side of the main road and ran in an open channel along the southeast side of the adjoining store.

The store is a two-storey former store running east to west at an angle to the infill section, now converted to living accommodation. Its roof matches the mill. A cement-rendered chimney runs along its south eaves. The south elevation is rendered to mimic hung slates; the east and north elevations are of unrendered random rubble. All openings are square-headed and appear to be new insertions or enlargements; they are filled with modern doors and windows.

Historical development

The mill is documented as a corn mill on the 1834, 1858, and 1895 Ordnance Survey maps. The adjacent store is shown as a detached building on all editions and is probably of the same later 18th or early 19th-century date. The 1830s Ordnance Survey Memoir notes the mill as belonging to Sharman Crawford MP and powered by a 15-foot-diameter by 5-foot-wide undershot waterwheel. Sharman Crawford was the son of William Sharman of Moira Castle and assumed the surname Crawford upon inheriting the estate of his brother-in-law John Crawford of Crawfordsburn. He served as MP for Dundalk from 1835 to 1837 and for Rochdale from 1841 to 1852. The Griffith Valuation of 1863 lists the owner as John S. Crawford and describes the complex as a corn mill, kiln, and offices with a total rateable valuation of £27.

By the 1900 Ordnance Survey map, the space between the mill and store had been infilled, and the complex was captioned as a saw mill, suggesting the corn mill had ceased operation. This designation as a saw mill was repeated on the 1919 and 1939 maps. By the 1958 Ordnance Survey survey, the entire site was captioned as The Watermill, indicating that industrial operations had probably ceased and the complex had been converted to housing. Additions are shown at the northwest end of the corn mill and south end of the infill section between the two original buildings.