Former beetling mill, Near 39 Cullycapple Road, Aghadowey, Coleraine, Co Londonderry, BT51 4AR

Former Beetling Mill, Agivey, near Cullycapple Road, Aghadowey

This is a substantial one- and two-storey linen beetling mill dating from the mid-19th century (constructed between approximately 1840 and 1859), situated close to the west bank of the Agivey River, from which it was originally powered. Although long disused and stripped of its machinery, the building remains clearly recognisable as a beetling mill due to its large number of louvred first-floor openings, which were designed to provide an air current for drying beetled linen hung inside. The mill is of local industrial archaeological interest as the most significant industry in this locality during the later 19th and early 20th centuries, though it is not considered of sufficient interest to warrant statutory listing.

The mill is aligned north to south and comprises a two-storey main building with a single-storey annex at its north end.

Main Building

The two-storey, single-bay main building has a pitched roof, originally covered in natural slate but now partly replaced with cement-fibre slates towards the middle and corrugated metal at the south end. Rainwater goods are entirely missing. The walls are of squared rubble basalt brought to courses, but the first floor is largely of brick owing to the large number of openings, and also features a projecting brick eaves course. The lower half of the ground-floor wall is cement rendered. All openings have flat brick heads and jambs with stone sills.

The principal elevation faces east and has a single-storey entrance porch of stone and brick construction to the centre, with a replacement pitched natural slate roof and plain bargeboards. To the right (north) of the porch at ground-floor level there are seven window openings with 4x5-pane glazing, all now sheeted over. Above these, at first-floor level, are six wider openings, each fitted with paired timber louvres, some also incorporating pairs of 4x4-pane windows above the louvres. To the left (south) of the porch, seven windows at ground-floor level are again mostly sheeted over; three of the first-floor window openings on this side have been infilled with brick but are otherwise detailed in the same manner as those to the right of the porch.

The south gable has a blank segmental-headed recessed panel rising to first-floor level. At bottom right is a doorway that formerly led into a saw mill, of which all traces have now gone except for the ghost of its roof. Whether this was the pitched roofline visible at this point, or the curved one below it, is uncertain.

The west (rear) elevation is abutted at its centre by a raised random rubble headrace intake entering at first-floor level. At the point where the headrace enters the mill there is a small but very deep pit, apparently the location of a former turbine. This elevation is heavily overgrown, but the ground- and first-floor windows appear to be similar to those on the east elevation. There is also a loading door with a cantilevered balcony at first-floor level. Also at the rear is what appears to be a mounting block, possibly for an auxiliary engine or other item of machinery.

The north gable is abutted by the single-storey annex. The exposed section above the annex has two small first-floor windows and two attic windows above them; all are now sheeted over.

Annex

The single-storey, single-bay annex is contemporary with the main building. It has a pitched replacement corrugated metal roof. Its walls are detailed in the same manner as the main mill, with a brick eaves course, but without cement render. The west elevation has four brick-trimmed window openings, one of which retains its 3x3-pane timber frame. The north gable has a doorway at the left and a brick-infilled opening at the right. The east elevation has three window openings, but a pair of 3x3-pane timber frames survive only in the middle opening.

Setting

A field access track runs along the east side of the building, beyond which lies the river. To the south is an open yard, along the west side of which stands the shell of an earlier 19th-century mill, now reduced from two storeys to one and demolished at its south end. This earlier structure is of random rubble basalt with round-headed brick-trimmed openings. To the south-east are vestiges of a mid-19th-century mill-related building. To the west is the headrace, and to the west and north is the lane leading up to the owner's house.

Historical Background

A bleach mill and associated bleach green are recorded on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map and in the first valuation book as belonging to Alexander Bartley. The building under review does not appear until the 1853 map, and therefore dates to the 1830s or 1840s. By 1858 it is described in the valuation as measuring 126 feet by 28 feet by 28 feet, with a 37 feet by 28 feet by 8 feet annex, belonging to Alexander and George Bartley & Co. The earlier mill is also noted at this time, along with two engine houses (whether for beetling engines or steam engines, or both, is uncertain), a boiler house, and a chimney. The machinery at this date comprised 16 beetling engines, 18 pairs of wash feet, a starching mangle, 15 pairs of rubbing bears, and a callender. Power was provided by two all-metal waterwheels and a steam engine, all of which operated throughout the year. The rateable valuation of £110 for the bleach mills and offices indicates that this was a major industrial enterprise. A McAdam turbine operating on a 21-foot head is known to have been installed around 1850, though its precise location is uncertain and it is not specifically mentioned in the valuation. A second turbine was also installed, though whether at the same time or later is unclear; it is recorded as still being in existence in 1912.

Thomas Barklie (apparently a corrected form of the earlier surname Bartley) took over operations sometime between 1865 and 1880. In addition to the beetling and bleach mills, a new drying house is recorded during this period, and the site's rateable valuation rose to £270. Around 1885 the premises were taken over by B. Whitworth Brothers, though they are described in the valuation as being at rest. Benjamin Whitworth is recorded as the sole operator from 1889 onwards. By 1891, James McCoskey is listed as owner following an auction, and the premises are recorded simply as a store.

Robert Hanna and Son purchased the premises for £1,000 around 1901 and appears to have recommenced beetling, as the site is once again recorded for this purpose in the valuations. At this point only the building under review appears to have been functioning, described as "very old and patched up" but still containing 16 beetling engines. Twenty-two houses were also erected on the premises by Mr Hanna. By the time of the 1904 Ordnance Survey map, many of the mid-19th-century buildings were little more than shells. The building under review is shown as fully roofed and is captioned "Mullaghmore Saw Mills and Dye Works"; the extension at the south end was probably the saw mill. Two parallel terraces of houses are also depicted at the south end of the site at this date.

J.G. Crawford took over the site around 1920, and the 1923 Ordnance Survey map shows little change to the site layout, though it is now captioned "Mullaghmore Saw Mills and Beetling Works". William Clark and Sons Ltd of Upperlands took over around 1931 and appear to have continued beetling, probably through the Second World War years as well. However, all operations had ceased by 1956, when the premises are described as a vacant store belonging to Messrs Clark. They sold the site in 1961 and it was eventually purchased by the present owner, who now uses the building for agricultural purposes.