Balnamore Mill, 8 Drumahisky Road, Balnamore, Ballymoney, Co Antrim, BT53 7QL

Balnamore Mill is a large industrial complex comprising interconnected mill buildings of different periods, dominated by a substantial red brick "new mill" and an earlier stone "old mill", with a tall detached chimney to the east.

The New Mill

The principal building is a four-storey, fifteen-bay red brick block with a later attic storey, now rising to five storeys at the north end where a later lift shaft and stairwell have been added. A two-storey single-bay former engine house is attached at the south end, leading to the two-storey "old mill" built of rubble stone with a flat roof. The building has no designated main entrance; the original entrance stood at the south end of the east elevation, with a later entrance on the north side of the stairwell, but several entrances now exist.

The pitched roof is covered in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses, with corrugated Perspex rooflights. The walls are red brick with rusticated sandstone quoins at the corners. A frieze of three courses of yellow brick surmounted by three courses of red brick supports a large cornice of two courses of shaped yellow brick and moulded sandstone. The building sits on a smooth rendered plinth. The moulded cast iron guttering has broken cast iron downpipes. The lower three storeys appear to be built of older brick than the fourth storey.

The east elevation retains original rectangular timber nine-pane fixed-light windows with three-pane opening toplights, set in plain reveals with brick flat-arched heads and projecting sandstone cills. Later timber frames and chicken wire have been set flush with the outside face. Ground floor window openings have been boarded over. At the left-hand end, a square brick tower rises above the eaves line, containing two semi-circular arched six-pane timber windows (with broken glazing). The tower has red brick walling with a similar moulded cornice to the main block and supports a metal water trough. The extreme left-hand ground floor opening is a doorway containing a modern single metal-plated door in a crude timber frame with the fanlight boarded over. To the right is a wide doorway with sliding timber boarded doors. The sixth ground floor opening from the left is a doorway blocked with concrete blockwork. The tenth opening from the left contains another single metal-plated door.

The south gable is plain red brickwork.

The west elevation is similar to the east, except ground floor windows are closed up with concrete blockwork, as are upper floor windows in the extreme right-hand end bay. Guttering is partly missing. Near the right-hand end is a later full-height red brick toilet stack with openings in its north side. Three large metal duct pipes are attached to the right-hand half of the main wall. A lean-to red brick addition stands at ground floor level. To the right-hand end is an elevated single-storey brick addition with a monopitch roof at first floor level, supported on rolled steel joists. To the right of that is a single-storey flat-roofed addition. All these additional blocks are of poor quality. Set back slightly to the left-hand end is a one-bay side of the later stairwell projecting from the north gable.

The north gable is four storeys with an attic storey, built in brick with rusticated sandstone quoins, sandstone gable coping, and short returns of the moulded cornices from the main east and west elevations. Much of the original gable is covered by a later central projecting lift shaft with a later projecting stairwell to the right of the lift shaft. One opening exists at each floor in the exposed part of the original gable to the left of the lift shaft: the ground floor opening is a later wide rectangular opening with smooth cement-rendered reveals and a modern steel roller door with projecting canopy; the first floor contains rectangular tongued-and-grooved sheeted double doors with a similar fanlight, set in similar reveals to each elevation; second and third floor windows are as on the east elevation except they contain forty panes instead of twelve; the fourth floor window is semi-circular headed with originally small panes and radiating lights to the head, but is now derelict.

The lift shaft rises nearly to the apex of the main gable. It is built of bright-toned red brick with yellow brick and sandstone or rendered cornice and a flat roof. Each floor has an original blind rectangular window recess with projecting sandstone cills and three courses of brick corbels to the head, except the top floor which contains a circular opening with a yellow brick surround and large sandstone keystone. The left or east cheek of the lift shaft has two openings to each floor: those to the left are contained in a full-height semi-circular arched recess, the ground floor one bricked up with plain reveals and a flat-arched head, the upper ones containing rectangular timber forty-pane windows, and the top one semi-circular arched with timber small panes; openings to the right are blind rectangular recesses as on the front of the shaft.

Set back to the right of the lift shaft is the stairwell, three openings wide, in similar red brick, with the wall head following the pitch of the main gable but lower. It has a slated roof. Openings to the left-hand bay are contained in a full-height semi-circular arched recess: the ground floor one is blocked up with plain reveals and a flat-arched head; the upper ones are rectangular timber small-paned windows; the top one is semi-circular arched with small panes and radiating lights to the head. Openings to the right are original blind rectangular recesses with sandstone cills and corbel courses to the head. The right or west cheek of the stairwell has three windows, one to each half-landing, all segmental arched: timber twelve-pane to the ground floor, but forty-pane above.

Former Engine House

Abutting the south gable of the main mill block is a two-storey single-bay block built in red brick topped by yellow brick to the parapet roof, with a smooth cement-rendered plinth. The east elevation has a semi-circular arched first floor window opening, now bricked up, and a similar ground floor elevated doorway partly blocked up. The left or south cheek has an elevated doorway. The west elevation contains a semi-circular arched opening now closed up. The "old mill" abuts its south side.

The Old Mill

The east elevation is two storeys with a flat concrete roof. The walls are rubble basalt with lime mortar and a red brick parapet. Some ground floor windows have smooth cement-rendered surrounds but are boarded over or closed up with corrugated iron; they have concrete cills. Windows on the first floor and at the right-hand end of the ground floor have brick block surrounds. The windows are mainly rectangular timber six-pane. A projecting section just right of centre, two openings wide and slightly higher than on either side, has a doorway at first floor level. A large later ground floor opening stands near the right-hand end of the block. A single doorway exists to the left-hand part. A doorway in the first floor at the right-hand end is accessible by ladder.

The south gable is basalt rubble with a central projecting brick stack built in old handmade bricks with narrow slit openings to the left or west cheek.

The west elevation is of similar general character to the east. Saplings are growing at parapet level. There is a broken cast iron downpipe.

Mill Chimney

A tall tapering octagonal brick chimney with a cornice of stepped and raised brickwork stands detached to the east. Metal tie rods encircle its upper half.

Setting

The conglomerate building stands in a former mill complex in a rural area on the edge of the village of Balnamore. Standing alongside to the east is a block comprising three contiguous two-storey buildings (the "Office Block", described below), and to the north of that is a block of two contiguous single-storey corrugated metal sheds. Elsewhere within the complex are the roofless remains of some red brick former mill structures, as well as modern shelters. To the north-west of the "new mill" is the former extensive mill pond with earthen embankments, now mostly silted up. At the south end of the mill pond lie the remains of a demolished timber shed originally erected over a portion of the pond. A rough grass area lies to the south part of the complex; the east part is used as a vehicle scrapyard. Immediately north of the "new mill" is a large yard area of hardstanding, with a car park to the north of that, alongside the driveway from the main Drumahiskey Road. Two sets of modern steel security gates stand along the driveway, which is partly bordered by damaged original plain iron railings.

The "Office Block" includes a two-storey gabled building in rubble basalt with a natural slated roof. The north elevation has small-paned timber windows. The west gable contains a later wide rectangular ground floor opening with a smaller doorway to the first floor, reached by an exterior metal staircase and balcony. Above the first floor doorway is a semi-circular arched small-paned timber window to the attic. The east gable has a small semi-circular arched window to the attic. Contiguous with the first block on the south side is a middle block with a red brick west gable and two openings to each floor, the upper doorway reached from the previous balcony. Its east gable is part brick and part smooth rendered, with partly blocked-up windows. Contiguous with the middle block on the south side is a two-storey block with a modern monopitch roof, dry-dashed walls, and PVC windows.