Corn mill, Glasker Mill, adj 1 Ouley Rd, Ballyskeagh, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 5DB

Glasker Mill is a four-storey, single-bay water-powered corn mill built in the mid-19th century. Constructed between 1840 and 1859 of random rubble granite and blackstone masonry brought to courses with granite quoins, it now stands without its original machinery or waterwheel. Despite its ruined condition, the building retains much of its original character and fabric, and is a good example of a medium-sized rural watermill.

The building is aligned northeast to southwest with its principal elevation facing southeast. The roof, once pitched with natural slate, is now partly collapsed, and rainwater goods are mostly missing except for a single cast-iron downpipe. The walls are pierced by flat-headed openings with brick heads and jambs. The southeast elevation displays three openings on each floor, all aligned vertically. The ground floor contains a door; the upper floors contain windows without cills, now all unglazed and boarded over. Tie bars link the upper floors. The southwest gable features a ground-floor doorway, an infilled loading door to the first floor, and a window to the top floor. A wrought-iron weigh crane survives at ground-floor level on the left. The northwest elevation is partly built into the slope, making the ground floor largely invisible. Two doors (one infilled) open to the first floor, and a window lights the second floor. The northeast gable contains a first-floor window. This elevation formerly held an external waterwheel, shared with an adjacent flax mill, with a square opening at ground-floor level for the wheel axle. No traces of head or tail races survive.

Historically, the site reflects a shift from toll grinding to merchant milling. An earlier, much smaller mill stood to the north. The 1833 Ordnance Survey map shows uncaptioned mill buildings at Mill Town belonging to Andrew McAlister, comprising a corn mill measuring 39 feet by 21½ feet by 6½ feet high, and a kiln measuring 31 feet by 18 feet by 8 feet high. By 1853, the complex had been substantially rebuilt in its present form and was captioned as "Corn and Flax Mills" with the same footprint as today. The circa 1862 Second Valuation book records the owner as Roberts S Corbett. The corn mill then measured 12 yards by 8 yards with four storeys; the kiln measured 24 yards by 7 yards with two storeys. The complex included a flax mill and engine house of 17 yards by 8 yards with two storeys, a boiler house of 15 yards by 3 yards with one storey, and two stores—one measuring 11 yards by 7 yards with two storeys (now demolished) and another of 9 yards by 7 yards with three storeys (now converted to a house). The 1862 Valuation records two overshot waterwheels—one 20 feet in diameter by 4 feet wide, the other 14 feet by 2½ feet wide. Water supply was available for only about five months annually, necessitating a high-pressure steam engine of 14 horsepower. The corn mill contained one pair of gritstone shelling stones 5 feet in diameter and two pairs of French burrs 4 feet 4 inches in diameter for grinding. The flax mill held 10 scutching stocks and two sets of flax breakers.

By 1894, the flax mill was noted as "at rest," though this likely referred to the original corn mill to the north, which appears to have been converted to flax scutching. The mid-19th century flax mill, however, continued operating, driven by a steam engine with 10 stocks and a set of triple rollers. Glasker Mills (Corn & Flax) appear on the 1903 and 1918 Ordnance Survey maps. John J Corbett took over the premises around 1919. By 1922, the corn mill was disused, as were the kiln and stores. The original corn and flax mill appears to have been demolished around this time. The steam-powered flax mill, by contrast, continued in operation seemingly until after the Second World War.

The building stands on the north side of Ouley Road at its junction with the main Loughbrickland-Rathfriland road. It is one of several surviving structures within the substantial mid-19th century water- and steam-powered industrial complex that reflects the development of rural industry in the area. Related buildings include the corn kiln and store to the northwest, the flax mill to the east, and a chimney to the southeast. A former flax store to the west has been converted into a house (1 Ouley Road). The mill is surrounded by fields, with a farmyard to the north. The building is of industrial archaeological interest as a key component of the complex, demonstrating the technological and commercial transition from water power to steam power in rural milling operations.