Mill Court, 17 Castlewellan Road, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 4AX

Mill Court, Banbridge

Mill Court is a mixed-use industrial complex occupying the site between the west side of Castlewellan Road and the River Bann. The property comprises two distinct structures: a three-storey L-shaped former linen warehouse fronting the road, and a smaller two-storey L-shaped former stable block and coach house at the southwest end.

The three-storey warehouse features a hipped roof reslated with natural slate and fitted with steel half-round gutters and down pipes. The walls are constructed of quarried random rubble blackstone with an advanced brick eaves course. The east elevation is distinguished by v-jointed, stepped dressed granite quoins at both ends. All window and door openings are square-headed with brick heads and jambs; the windows are 6/6 timber sliding sashes with granite cills unless otherwise noted.

The east frontage facing Castlewellan Road displays nine openings wide to its upper floors in symmetrical design. A three-centred coach arch with dressed granite surround occupies the ground floor centre, featuring accentuated foot, spring and keystones. To its left is a window and half-glazed timber door serving an electrical goods shop. The openings to the right of the archway have been replaced by a modern shop front for a fast-food outlet. The first and second floors each contain nine windows aligned vertically. Two shop signs project at first floor level. A large two-storey house formerly belonging to the warehouse owner abuts the right-hand side of this elevation.

The south elevation faces onto a neighbouring house's garden and is 15 window openings wide to its upper floors. The stonework to the ground floor is of poorer quality than the rest and may originally have been rendered. All windows are vertically aligned: six to the ground floor and 15 each to the first and second floors. Window cills vary, with one of sandstone, two of concrete, and the remainder of granite.

The west elevation of the front section, facing the yard, is abutted at its right end by a three-storey external brick stairwell with a shallow sloping felted timber roof and rounded northwest corner. This elevation is five openings wide to its upper floors. The coach arch here has a brick architrave with granite spring and keystones, and a modern steel gate is hung from one side. A sheeted timber door with overlight and a window serve the fast-food outlet to the left of the arch. First and second floor openings are vertically aligned; all are windows except for a sheeted loading door at first floor right. The stairwell features 6/6 windows at each landing on its north elevation and smaller 6/6 windows between each landing on its west elevation. A short flight of timber stairs leads to a sheeted timber door at the bottom, with an under-stair opening at the base of the west elevation.

The north elevation of the return is nine openings wide and abutted at left by the stairwell. Three three-centred arches with brick surrounds occupy the ground floor, each with raised granite spring and keystones. Two have been infilled with rubble blackstone; a sheeted door with overlight has been inserted into one and a 6/6 window (with granite cill and brick trim) into the other. The third archway remains unaltered and contains a pair of sheeted timber doors. The upper floors each have nine vertically aligned windows. The yard is bounded to the north by a modern building belonging to adjoining premises.

The two-storey stable block has a pitched natural slate roof with metal half-round gutters and down pipes. Its walls are cement-rendered and painted, particularly to the yard elevations. All window openings are square-headed with 6/6 timber sliding sashes and granite cills unless otherwise stated.

The west elevation rises two storeys over a basement fronting a former headrace to another mill to the south. Its left half is slightly advanced and contains four first floor windows. Ground and basement level windows have been infilled and rendered over. The right half contains two 3/3 timber sash windows set into larger brick-trimmed openings. The south elevation has two ground floor windows (one 6/6, one 3/3) and three first floor windows (all 3/3), with two further infilled openings to the upper floor whose cills survive. A brick chimney of square cross section projects from the south pitch of the roof, standing to full height with an out-curving mounded granite crown.

The east elevation (yard-facing) of the north-south section contains a raised eaves gable with a working clock set in a circular moulded surround. There are three windows and a sheeted timber door to both floors. The north elevation of the east-west section has two segmental-arched doorways at ground floor level: one containing a two-leaf sheeted timber door, the other a modern semi-glazed timber door with glazed sidelights and spoked overlight. The windows here are double-glazed.

Affixed to the north end of the east gable is a hand-operated water pump. Its intake and outlet pipes have been removed, but the pump itself survives: an up-down plunger mechanism that discharged sideways into a small vertical cylinder with tap at bottom and outlet pipe at top. The pump has been painted but is not functional.