Ballinlea Mill, 34 Kilmahamogue Road, Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, BT54 6JJ

Ballinlea Mill is a complete later 19th-century water-powered corn mill set within an extensive complex of associated buildings. The site comprises the main two-storey mill with its working waterwheel and machinery, together with a single-storey seed house, two-storey store and saw mill, a two-storey kiln with various outbuildings, and two dwellings. The mill is located on the right bank of the headwaters of Moss-side Water, approached down a tree-lined single-track lane from the main road, and surrounded by fields with a stream marking its southern boundary.

Water System

The headrace runs along the northern boundary of the site, falling from its point of origin northeast of Kilmahamogue Road towards the mill. The race is lined with randomly coursed stone to the sides and larger stones to the base. It joins the gable of the kiln building where a timber sluice gate still exists mid-span before terminating at the head of the wheel. A concrete-lined opening on the side of the race acts as an overspill for excess water. After passing over the waterwheel, water was conveyed along an open tailrace through the store and then along a short culvert to the stream.

Corn Mill

The main mill building is aligned north to south with its entrance on the south gable. It measures 38 feet 10 inches north to south by 22 feet east to west and stands two storeys high. The pitched roof is covered in natural slate with plain verges and half-round plastic gutters. Walls are of random rubble with a corbelled brick eaves course. Unless otherwise stated, all openings have flat brick heads and jambs.

The south gable has a double-leaf timber entrance door at ground floor, a loading door at first floor with a projecting sloping concrete cill, and a 2/2 sliding sash window in the apex. The west elevation is partly abutted by a two-storey store which also housed a saw mill. The exposed section of the mill proper has two ground floor windows: at left is a 2x4-paned metal-framed window with stone cill, and at right is a brick-infilled window opening. There is also a 2x4 metal-framed window at first floor. The first floor stonework on this elevation contrasts markedly with that at ground floor. The ground floor is randomly laid with very crude quoins, whereas the first floor is brought to courses and has large roughly-dressed quoin blocks. This suggests that the entire building was raised from one storey to two storeys.

The north gable has a 2/2 sliding sash window at first floor. In front of it stands an overshot waterwheel 14 feet in diameter by 5 feet 6 inches wide, set in a 7 feet 3 inches wide stone-lined wheelpit. The wheel's axle, hubs and rims are of cast iron, and the tie bars between the rims are of wrought iron. The two sets of eight arms, 40 angled buckets, and sole plate are all of timber. Although the wheel was restored by the present owner in the relatively recent past, it is now idle and some of its buckets and sole boards are rotten. The wheel is fed by a timber launder supported on a brick pier at the end of the rubble masonry headrace. The launder is a modern replacement of an original riveted sheet-iron one.

The east elevation of the mill is partly abutted by the single-storey lean-to seed house. There is a sheeted timber door into the mill at the south end of this elevation, with a rudimentary porch with corrugated iron roof to the front.

Seed House

This single-storey, single-bay lean-to abuts the east elevation of the mill. Now empty, it was undoubtedly the seed house originally, into which the oat shells and weed seeds were blown during the oat shelling process. It measures 34 feet 6 inches north to south by 7 feet 6 inches east to west. The monopitched natural slate roof has two metal-framed skylights but no rainwater goods. Walls are of random rubble with corbelled brick eaves, all in a similar style to the mill's first floor. There are brick-infilled windows to the north and east elevations, and a beaded tongue-and-groove door at the south end.

Mill Store and Saw Mill

This two-storey, single-bay building partly abuts the west side of the mill. It measures 35 feet 6 inches north to south by 16 feet 10 inches east to west. Its roof is detailed as the mill. The style of its stonework is identical to that of the mill's first floor, including the corbelled brick course, and suggests that it was contemporary with the heightening of the mill.

The main entrance is on the south gable and comprises a double-leaf beaded tongue-and-groove door with stone jambs. To its left is a brick-infilled opening. There is also a 2/2 timber casement window at first floor with concrete cill. The west elevation has two ground floor shuttered openings, both with voussoired stone heads and stone jambs but no cills. A brick-trimmed loading door at first floor has a concrete cill. The north gable has a doorway at ground floor with the door now missing, showing a brick relieving arch and stone jambs, and a brick-infilled opening at left. There is also a 1/1 sash window at first floor with slate cill. The exposed east elevation spans the tailrace and has no openings. Vestiges of cement flashing at its right-hand end indicate the former presence of an abutting single-storey building with a double-pitch roof.

Kiln

To the immediate east of the mill block is a two-storey former kiln. It is aligned north to south and measures 42 feet 3 inches north to south by 18 feet 3 inches east to west. It first appears on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map. The building has a replacement corrugated asbestos roof, vestiges of a gable chimney presumably from the firehole, plastic rainwater goods, and random rubble walls. There is a large sliding corrugated metal entrance door on the west elevation, and a metal-framed window to the left.

The drying floor has been removed and the interior is now used as a store for items of milling machinery salvaged from Clontyfinnan Mill. These include timber millstone furniture, cast-iron stone nuts and spindles, flat pulleys, shafts, bevel gears, and sluice gate pinions. Some original equipment from Ballinlea may also be present. The kiln's south gable is abutted by a relatively modern greenhouse. The north end of its east elevation has a small two-storey random rubble return, formerly a store, which has been extended as a single-storey concrete block shed with monopitched corrugated metal roof.

Kiln Man's House

On the opposite side of the laneway, south of the mill block, is a one-and-a-half-storey, two-bay dwelling. It is aligned north to south and measures 34 feet north to south by 17 feet 9 inches east to west. There is also a small roofless single-storey, single-bay extension on its south gable. This house was extant in the 1830s and is now derelict. The pitched natural slate roof is in poor repair and there are no rainwater goods. The walls are of random rubble, but the south gable has been repaired with concrete blocks. On the west elevation is the central entrance door, flanked by infilled windows. All the openings have brick heads and jambs.

Just behind this house are four millstones: a pair of 60 inch diameter shelling stones and a pair of 52 inch diameter grinding stones, possibly French burr. According to the owner, they are all original to Ballinlea.

Outbuilding 1

Just west of the kiln man's house is a small single-storey, single-bay byre now very overgrown. It is first shown on the 1922 Ordnance Survey map. It has a pitched corrugated iron roof and random rubble walls. There are no openings save for a doorway at the west end of the north elevation. A lean-to concrete block shed with monopitched corrugated metal roof has been built onto its east gable.

Outbuilding 2

East of the kiln man's house are the overgrown remains of a single-storey random rubble outbuilding. It is shown on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map.

Miller's House

At the northeast corner of the complex is a substantial one-and-a-half-storey, multi-bay dwelling. It is aligned east to west and measures 47 feet by 18 feet 6 inches, excluding a single-storey return on the west gable. This was the miller's house and was extant in the 1830s. It has been refurbished and is the only building in the complex which is still in use. The pitched natural slate roof has three eaves dormers to its south pitch, plastic rainwater goods, cement-rendered walls and an entrance porch to its south elevation.

Ice-house

To the immediate south of the miller's house, hidden by brambles, is a roughly circular stone-lined structure only a few feet in diameter, with a stone lintel spanning a south-facing opening. Though small in size, its proximity to the river suggests an ice-house or similar structure.