‘Beetling Mill’, Roe Valley Country Park, Largy, Limavady, Co Londonderry

Beetling Mill

A ruined former mill building of historical interest for its association with milling on the River Roe, though of little architectural merit.

The structure is a former two-storey stone mill building with brick trims to openings, now roofless and derelict. It is aligned north-west to south-east and situated within modern landscaping near the mill pond of the Roe Valley Country Park.

The north-west gable facing the mill pond features a two-metre-wide arch with a semi-circular head at ground floor level, centred on the elevation. Directly above is a door-sized opening that formerly opened onto the first floor, fitted with a timber lintel, though the gable wall above this point is now gone. The gable appears to have been partially rebuilt in brick around the door. The north-east elevation survives only to first floor level, with the wall above now disappeared. A door stands near the north-west end and a window near the south-east, with the intervening wall rebuilt in brick in several places. The south-east gable is similar in design to the north-west but rises only to mid-first-floor height, with a brick arch centred at ground level and a door-sized opening above that has been bricked up. The south-west wall is covered in brambles with no openings, and its height corresponds approximately to the north-east wall.

The building is indicated on the 1831 Ordnance Survey Map though not labelled as a mill. A millrace is shown proceeding from the centre of the present museum to this building and then to a third mill near the present power station, demolished before its erection in the 1880s. The building likely formed part of mill works associated with linen bleach greens at nearby Largy Green and Roe Green, founded in 1766 by Lesley Alexander and ceasing operation in 1831, which explains its absence from the 1831 map labelling. The 1848 Ordnance Survey Map describes the building as an "old beetling mill", suggesting it was reused by the linen manufactory established at Largy in 1833 by Richardson and Smith. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1834–5, this operation prepared linen yarn for weaving. Beetling was a finishing process applied to cloth after weaving, achieved by continual hammering to produce a shine. If the building was part of the manufactory, its use dates from after 1835. The building appears to have become disused again by 1848. The 1907 map shows the mill stream continuing through the building, though it is likely the stream was dry by then, with all available water diverted to the mill pond to provide head for John Edward Ritter's power station. The building was probably converted to a barn. It is shown with a roof on the 1976 Ordnance Survey Map but has decayed rapidly since then.