7 Hazel Bank Road, Gilford, Craigavon, BT63 6DS

Hazelbank Mill is a former flax spinning and weaving complex on the left bank of the River Bann, just east of Lawrencetown, accessed via a single-track vehicular bridge from the main Banbridge to Gilford road. The site has origins as a bleachworks, was converted to water-powered spinning in 1833–34 by Samuel Law, and subsequently expanded to include weaving. It is the earliest attested water-powered spinning mill on the Upper Bann and one of only two such mills to survive along the river. The listing covers the former mill, turbine house, chimney, and the façade of the former engine house.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

During the 18th century the Upper Bann became one of the two principal centres of linen production in Ireland, rivalled only by the Lagan Valley. All stages of production were represented along its length: scutching, spinning, weaving, and bleaching. A total of 48 textile sites are known to have existed between the river's source in the Mourne Mountains and its outflow into Lough Neagh. Of these, 15 were scutch mills (mostly on the upper reaches above Katesbridge), 23 were finishing works — bleaching and/or beetling — concentrated on the middle stretch between Corbett Milltown and Moyallen, and just four were spinning mills. A 1988 survey by Cormac Scally found that approximately half of all sites had either disappeared or survived as only insignificant traces, with the survival rate relatively consistent across types: 47% of scutch mills, 50% of spinning mills, 50% of weaving factories, and 55% of finishing works.

The two surviving spinning mills on the Upper Bann are Hazelbank and Gilford. Hazelbank was established in 1833–34, making it the earlier of the two; the Gilford mill began operations two years later under Hugh Dunbar. The contrast between them is marked: Gilford is a purpose-built multi-storey mid-19th-century spinning mill of urban character, whereas Hazelbank is essentially an adaptation of an earlier bleachworks and was not purpose-designed for spinning. Hazelbank is also notable as the site where the eminent English millwright and engineer William Fairbairn installed his first waterwheel in Ulster, and possibly in Ireland as a whole.

The Law family's connection with the site appears to date from 1783, when George and Joseph Law leased 37½ acres from the Bradford estate in Coose townland. By 1833 the Ordnance Survey six-inch map shows a bleach mill here, with a second nearby on the east side of the lane in Lisnafiffy townland, both adjoining extensive bleach greens. A terrace of cottages is also shown immediately south of the headrace at this time.

The first Valuation Book, dated May 1834, records Samuel Law as owner and describes the premises as a spinning manufactory, bleach mills and associated offices, valued at £46 7s 0d. The spinning manufactory is listed with dimensions of 54 by 39 feet, closely corresponding to the ground plan of the west section of the three-storey mill building. The 1834 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Tullylish Parish records two large waterwheels in use at what was then the only spinning mill in the parish. Both wheels were 14 feet in diameter by 12 feet wide, one powering the spinning mill. Both were designed by William Fairbairn, whose innovative approach made his wheels almost as wide as their diameter, maximising power output for a given head of water. The wheels appear to have been installed around 1833 during the site's final phase as a bleachworks; they were breast-shot and of iron construction, and were presumably redeployed to drive the spinning machinery on conversion.

By 1861, when Samuel Law was still recorded as owner, the valuation had risen to £190. The spinning mill by that point contained 8,000 spindles driven by a 25 horsepower breast-shot waterwheel 14 feet in diameter and 12 feet wide, supplemented by two steam engines rated at 25 and 30 horsepower respectively. The accompanying valuation map confirms that the waterwheel was positioned on the west gable of the three-storey building. In 1868 the valuation rose again to £215, possibly reflecting the addition of weaving looms, consistent with the spread of power-loom weaving across Ulster. Shortly afterwards the premises were described as "dilapidated" with a rating of only £50; Samuel Law died around this time and his trustees took over the lease around 1870.

By 1875 the site had two breast-shot waterwheels — presumably those installed in 1833 — one of them linked to a steam engine, producing a combined output of 200 horsepower and making this the third largest complex on the Upper Bann by power. The 1878 valuation describes the site as "Hazelbank flax spinning and weaving mill at rest and unfinished" at £100. Work was evidently completed the following year: the 1879 entry records a weaving mill valued at £230, measuring 104 by 129 feet, containing 120 looms with space for 40 more, driven by a 40 horsepower steam engine with a 100-foot chimney and a 12-foot-diameter by 10-foot-wide waterwheel. The occupier at this time was George B. Coulter. From 1880, the Hazelbank Weaving Company took over and continued operations well into the 20th century. The mill closed in the mid-1960s and was subsequently used to house poultry before being purchased by its present owner, Mr Felix McConville, in 1985. The Upper Bann Building Preservation Trust intended to purchase the river-fronting buildings and renovate them as dwellings.

DESCRIPTION

The complex comprises three principal sections: the former spinning mill aligned east–west along the riverbank; the former engine house and chimney; and the remains of a former weaving shed and turbine house.

SPINNING MILL

The spinning mill consists of two connected parts: a two-storey building at the west end and a three-storey building with attic at the east end.

Two-storey mill

This building is four openings wide, measuring 61 feet 6 inches by 28 feet 3 inches in plan and standing 18 feet to the eaves from internal floor level, with walls 18 inches thick. The pitched slate roof has been replaced with underfelted corrugated metal sheeting, though the original queen-post trusses (two in number), double purlins, and common rafters have been retained. The walls are of split quarried Silurian rubble with roughly dressed granite quoins to the west gable. The advanced eaves course is executed in yellow brick set diagonally, faced with a timber board carrying half-round plastic gutters. All openings have red hand-made brick surrounds with flat heads unless otherwise noted, and sandstone window cills.

The south elevation, facing the yard, has four openings to each floor, those to the upper floor being aligned with those below except at the right-hand end. All openings are windows, now sheeted over, apart from the third opening from the left on the ground floor, which is a wide doorway with a semi-elliptical arched head (the doors themselves are gone). Between the two first-floor windows at the left is a cast-iron bearing bracket, originally carrying a shaft across from the engine house; it has been packed around with machined brick, indicating a later insertion. At ground level towards the right-hand end is a shallow segmental brick arch, now infilled and more clearly visible on the inside face of the wall, almost certainly marking the former intake from the headrace channel to the waterwheel.

The west gable has a ground-floor doorway in the middle, now infilled, with its two-pane transom surviving. At the extreme right is a vertical slit trimmed with machined red brick, and immediately to its left is a concrete emplacement, likely an engine mounting with a pulley belt drive through into the mill.

The north elevation, facing the river, has three windows to the ground floor and four to the first floor. At ground level at the left is an infilled segmental brick arch marking the former tailrace. All windows are now sheeted over and no original frames survive. Between the third and fourth first-floor windows from the left is a cast-iron bearing bracket corresponding in position to that on the opposite south wall.

Three-storey mill

This single-bay building is trapezoidal in plan, measuring 106 feet 10 inches along its north side (with 12 openings) and 93 feet 10 inches along its south side (11 openings). It is 39 feet wide, stands 29 feet 6 inches high to the eaves, and has walls 24 inches thick. The pitched slate roof has been replaced with underfelted troughed metal sheeting; the original queen-post trusses (11 in number), double purlins, and common rafters have been retained, and some of the massive 3-foot by 2-foot original slates are stacked on the attic floor. There is a skylight to the yard pitch. The north and south walls are tied with metal plates connected to the principal floor beams. Advanced brick eaves carry a timber board with half-round plastic gutters.

The walls are of Silurian rubble and clearly show two phases of construction. The west section, approximately 53 feet 10 inches long with six window openings at first-floor level, is of randomly laid rubble incorporating many rounded fieldstones, suggesting it may pre-date the 1833–34 conversion and could belong to the earlier bleachworks. The remaining eastern portion, approximately 53 to 40 feet long, is of quarried rubble brought to courses. The quoins on the west gable and the east end of the west section are of roughly dressed granite; the east section has no quoins at its west end, while those to its east gable are of finely dressed vee-jointed granite blocks, confirming that the east section is a later addition. Based on the evidence of the 1834 and 1861 valuations and the 1860 Ordnance Survey map, the east section was most probably added between 1834 and 1860, likely in the 1860s or 1870s.

All openings have red hand-made brick surrounds with flat heads unless otherwise noted and sandstone window cills.

The south elevation has 10 openings to the ground floor and 11 to each of the upper floors. Openings 1 and 2 from the left at ground and first-floor levels have a corrugated metal canopy over. Openings 4, 5, and 6 are partially abutted at ground floor and part of first floor by a one-storey extension described by the owner as the former mill canteen. All ground-floor openings have been infilled with brick or concrete blocks. Opening 7 was originally a door, superseded by a wider insertion immediately to its left with a steel girder head. At first-floor level, tongue-and-groove sheeted doors survive to openings 3 and 11 (the latter with a transom); opening 3 is accessed by timber stairs and platform, and opening 11 by a concrete platform spanning ground-floor openings 8 to 10. The remaining openings are windows, almost all without their original frames and sheeted over with corrugated plastic. The exception is the 11th opening at second-floor level on the right, which retains its original fenestration: a five-by-five-paned top-opening casement.

The west gable is partially abutted by the two-storey building, which crosses some of the openings in this gable, confirming that the two-storey section is a later addition to the three-storey building. Holding-down bolts at the gable apex indicate the former presence of a metal framework that the owner reports supported a bell. At ground level in the centre is what appears to be an opening for a waterwheel axle. There was originally a doorway to the ground floor and two each to the first and second floors; some have brick relieving arches and all except the ground-floor example have been infilled. There were two windows to the attic floor: that at the left retains the three-by-two-paned top sash to a six-over-six sliding sash window; that at the right is infilled.

The north elevation has 12 window openings to all floors, all vertically aligned. Ground-floor openings are infilled and their cills removed. Most first-floor openings have been sheeted over and ventilation ducts inserted, reflecting use as a poultry house in the 1960s. Surviving frame remnants indicate some two-over-two sliding sash windows at first-floor level and five-by-five-paned top-opening casements at second-floor level.

The east gable, which faces the lane, is set at a skew. At first-floor level in the centre — which corresponds to external ground level on this side — is a doorway comprising a pair of diagonally tongue-and-groove-sheeted leaves with a transom above. Directly above at second-floor level is a loading door with a brick head incorporating a small dressed granite keystone.

ENGINE HOUSE AND CHIMNEY

Just south-west of the two-storey mill, across the headrace, are the remains of a steam engine house and boiler room. At the time of the November 1999 description, only the north wall survived. This wall is of brick, ten openings wide, with moulded sandstone brackets to a projecting masonry eaves course. The section at the left, four openings wide with segmental-headed windows, is set back slightly from the remainder. Openings 6, 7, and 8 are three semicircular-headed infilled openings; opening 5 is a flat-headed window; and to the right of opening 8 are two further flat-headed openings at ground and first-floor levels. All windows are sheeted over with corrugated plastic. At the time of the 1999 description, the remaining walls had been rebuilt in concrete blockwork with a shallow monopitched roof.

By June 2007, the left-hand section of the engine and boiler house had been more fully restored: where only the single north-facing wall had remained, the other three walls had been rebuilt in clay brick to match the original and the structure re-roofed in natural Bangor blue slate. Original window openings were fitted with painted timber windows to the original design, and further openings and matching windows were created in the new walls.

The chimney associated with the steam engine still stands to its full height at the west end of the site. It is of brick, with a tapering octagonal section rising to a corbelled stone top.

TURBINE HOUSE AND WEAVING SHED

A turbine house is present on the site. By 2007 it had been restored with natural Bangor blue slate roof and restored stone walls with red brick surrounds, with the eaves detail recreated. Modern turbines have been installed, along with a holding pond to the east fed from the original millrace. A working McCormick turbine fed by the weir and headrace also generates electricity for the owner's house. A second turbine is apparently still in situ but no longer operative; according to the owner, both turbines were installed in 1888, at which time the headrace appears to have been rerouted from its original course past the three-storey mill to its present line to the west of the two-storey building. The presence of millrace arches in the two-storey building indicates that it was erected before this rerouting and therefore before the late 1880s.

Along the south boundary of the complex, the saw-tooth profile of a gable to the former weaving shed is still visible; the style of the stonework suggests that an existing boundary wall was subsequently raised to form the roof profile.

LATER RESTORATION WORKS (noted at June 2007)

The two-storey mill had been partially restored: brick dressings around the openings were repointed and the roof re-covered in natural Bangor blue slate. The three-storey mill also had its brick window surrounds and part of the stone walling repointed, and the majority of window openings were fitted with painted timber two-over-two sliding sash windows.

SETTING

The premises are bounded to the east and south by a high brick wall which incorporates the remains of an earlier random rubble wall. A dressed stone gate that formerly gave access from the lane to the east has been dismantled and is stored elsewhere on the site. Immediately upstream is a triple-span bridge carrying the road over the Bann, originally with a wooden deck subsequently replaced in concrete, carried on stone piers. A short distance to the south-east is a ruinous terrace of single-storey mill workers' cottages in rubble masonry. To the south are three pairs of semi-detached red brick workers' houses, still inhabited.