Boiler house, Glasker Mill, adj 1 Ouley Rd, Ballyskeagh, Banbridge, Co Down, BT32 5DB

Boiler house at Glasker Mill

This is a single-storey, single-bay boiler house built in the mid-19th century as part of a substantial water- and steam-powered corn and flax mill complex at Glasker Mill. The building exemplifies the transition from water to steam power in rural industrial development during the 1800s.

The boiler house is a narrow structure aligned north-south, with its principal elevation facing west. It is constructed of random blackstone and granite rubble masonry with granite quoins and a brick eaves course. The pitched natural slate roof is now in poor condition with no rainwater goods present. The west-facing elevation has a door in the middle and a window to the left; both have been subject to later modifications, with concrete jambs evident on the door and a concrete cill on the window. The north gable contains a metal casement window inserted into what was originally an infilled doorway. The east elevation, which runs along the bank of the stream, has two infilled window openings. The south gable has a metal casement window.

The building's dimensions correspond with those recorded in the circa 1862 Valuation as 15 yards by 3 yards and one storey. Historical records indicate that the entire mill complex was rebuilt between 1833 and 1853, placing the boiler house firmly in this period. The circa 1862 Valuation records a 14-horsepower high-pressure steam engine at the complex, explaining the necessity of a dedicated boiler house, as the site's water supply was reliable for only about five months each year. Despite its modest scale, the building retains historical interest as a key component of a substantial industrial complex.

The boiler house sits at the south-east end of the mill complex on the north side of Ouley Road at its junction with the main Loughbrickland-Rathfriland road. Nearby buildings include the corn mill and chimney to the east, the flax mill to the north, an engine house, a former flax store (now converted to a dwelling at 1 Ouley Road) to the west, and modern agricultural structures and farmyard to the north. The setting is otherwise surrounded by fields. The steam-powered flax mill appears to have continued operating into the period after the Second World War, though the corn mill and associated structures had fallen out of use by the 1920s.