Chimney, 6 Cunningburn Road, Cunningburn, Newtownards, Co Down, BT22 2AR

Cunningburn Mill Chimney

A tall brick chimney of industrial archaeological interest, standing within a picturesque grouping of dwellings and converted mill buildings situated in a hollow roughly one mile north-west of the Mount Stewart estate near Newtownards, County Down.

The chimney is of brick construction, square on plan, measuring 1.8 metres square at its base and tapering slightly towards the top. It stands approximately 30 metres in height and is topped with a corbelled cap incorporating a tiled course. The flue measures 675 millimetres square at the bottom, making the chimney walls 2.5 bricks thick. The structure appears to bear on rock foundations, with a rock outcrop visible near its base.

The chimney forms part of a complex associated with corn milling and flax scutching. According to historical maps and records, a corn mill was built on the site in 1776 by Alexander Stewart (then owner of the Mount Stewart estate) under the supervision of miller W. Harris, and the buildings shown on a 1777 map include a thatched cottage, the corn mill and a kiln house. The flax scutching mill and store, with its associated engine house and tall chimney, had not been built by the time of the revised Ordnance Survey map of circa 1858 to 1860, suggesting this section dates to after that period—possibly the 1860s, when linen production increased due to the downturn in cotton production during the American Civil War.

The corn mill operated until circa 1932, while the flax mill ceased production in 1894. During the Second World War, the flow of water to the mill pond was halted, and much of the complex subsequently served as animal housing before falling into neglect. The site was purchased in the late 1980s and the buildings have since been converted to dwelling houses, with most conversion work completed by early 1998. The chimney survives as a prominent marker of the site's industrial heritage, retaining its original proportions and construction despite the extensive changes to the surrounding complex.