Engine House, Gilford Mill, Ann Street, Gilford, Craigavon, Co Down, BT63 6HX

Engine House, Gilford Mill

This extensive former flax spinning mill and thread works stands on the right bank of the Upper Bann at the north-west end of Gilford village. The site has been subdivided into five discrete units. The building described here, located at the west end of the premises, comprises an engine house and an adjoining four-storey store, both dating from between 1836 and 1860. Both structures are now abandoned and derelict.

The engine house is a two-storey building aligned north-south at the south-east corner of the block. It has a pitched natural slate roof with a skylight and a raised firebreak at the north end. The walls are constructed of random rubble blackstone with stepped vee-jointed granite quoins to the south gable. The wall has been raised slightly in red brick, probably at the time when the adjacent store was added, and notably lacks granite quoins in this later section. The east elevation contains a sheeted-over door above which is a large five-by-four-paned timber window opening with a brick semicircular head and jambs extending through both floors. A circular metal exhaust flue projects through the window from a disused oil-fired boiler inside. Towards the south side of this elevation is a small cast-iron bearing housing. The south gable shows traces of whitewash and the roof oversails this end slightly, suggesting it may have been formerly abutted. Three sheeted-over window openings on the ground floor are fitted with granite cills. An infilled doorway and an apex door are also present. The west elevation was formerly abutted at ground floor level by a single-storey Belfast-roof building aligned east-west and spanning the tailrace. This section of wall is cement rendered with a flat-headed double-leaf timber door. Above it is a four-by-three-paned window set in a semicircular opening trimmed with brick. The windows throughout are multi-paned timber, and plastic rainwater goods survive in vestiges.

The four-storey store abuts the north gable of the engine house, also aligned north-south. It has a skylit pitched natural slate roof, slightly higher than the engine house roof and fitted with four circular metal ridge ventilators. The walls are constructed entirely of red brick, and the wall heads are continuous with those of the engine house, indicating contemporaneity. The east elevation is five openings wide. The entire wall above ground floor level is supported by a rolled steel joist running the length of the building. The ground floor section is rendered and contains five large openings, all infilled or sheeted over. The first floor is painted and has four one-by-two-paned top-opening timber windows with sidelights but no cills. The two upper floors have two-by-three-paned top-opening timber windows, all with granite cills. A double-leaf sheeted timber loading door is located at the north end of the second floor. The north gable is constructed of random rubble with a brick apex; the ground and first floors are rendered with a small window opening to the apex. The west elevation is partly abutted by a two-storey high building, of which only vestiges survive. The exposed ground floor walls are rendered. Two-by-three-paned top-opening timber windows are visible on the second and third floors. A felt-covered timber chute runs vertically up the south end of this elevation. Plastic rainwater goods survive in vestiges throughout.

The block is bounded to the east and south-east by a chimney and multi-storey mill respectively. To the north, separated from the premises by a post and wire fence, is a landscaped public park. The tailrace runs along the west side of the engine house, beyond which is a yard with a rubble masonry wall separating it from the river.