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

Balnamore Mill is a mid-to-late Victorian linen mill complex, originally built in 1866 and subsequently extended and altered, situated in a rural area on the edge of the village of Balnamore. Together with its adjacent tall chimney, it forms a distinctive local landmark and represents a good example of its type in fairly original condition. Its setting has been affected by the loss of a number of associated buildings, including former workers' houses. The mill closed in 1959, and the date when its machinery was removed is not recorded. It is currently used as a store.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The mill complex was originally established in the 18th century. A bleach works had been set up on the site by a Mr Caldwell in 1764, after which it became the property of Josiah Bryan, until 1818 when it was bought by his brother-in-law Samuel Smith. It was then apparently sold in 1842 to James Thompson, described at the time as a "flax and tow spinner, and flour miller". By the 1860s the owner was referred to as J. Thompson Bryan, who built the 'new mill' and also a number of mill houses. The 'new mill' and its chimney were erected in 1866 as a steam-powered linen mill for James Thompson Bryan. By the early 1870s the complex was owned by William James Bryan. In 1886 it was taken over by the Braid Water Spinning Company, who apparently added the fourth storey to the 'new mill'. Later, in the early 20th century, it was owned by Hale and Martin, linen manufacturers from Dungannon.

The exact phases of construction of the 'new mill' are uncertain, but it appears it may originally have been of three storeys and then raised to four storeys with a flat roof, apparently in 1887, before later being given its top attic floor. The architect employed by the mill owner for his residence in Balnamore in 1863 was Fitzgibbon Louch CE, of Londonderry, but there is currently no known record of him having been employed for the mill itself.

The precise date of the 'old mill', which adjoins the 'new mill' at its south end, is uncertain. A building is shown on its site on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832, and there is a record of a beetling mill having been originally erected here in the 18th century, later converted to dry spinning in 1809. To what extent the present building represents the 18th-century mill is unclear. A published depiction of 1888 shows it to have comprised three storeys at that time; when it was reduced to two storeys is not known. The use of jack-arch vaulting suggests a 19th-century date for the building as it now stands. The northern part of the present office block appeared on the Ordnance Survey map of 1855.

THE NEW MILL

The 'new mill' is a large, slated and gabled red brick building. It comprises an original four-storey, fifteen-bay block with a later attic storey added above, a later five-storey lift and stairwell at the north end, and a two-storey single-bay former engine house block attached at the south end. The main entrance originally stood at the south end of the east elevation, with a later entrance on the north side of the north stairwell; there are now a number of entrances, none of which is designated the main entrance.

East elevation: The roof is pitched and covered in Bangor blue slates laid in regular courses, with rooflights of corrugated perspex. The walls are of red brick with rusticated sandstone quoins at the corners, and a frieze of three courses of yellow brick surmounted by three courses of red brick, supporting a large cornice of two courses of shaped yellow brick and moulded sandstone. There is a smooth rendered plinth, and a moulded cast iron gutter with broken cast iron downpipes. The lower three storeys appear to be of older brick than the fourth storey. The windows are original rectangular timber nine-pane fixed lights with three-pane opening toplights, set in plain reveals with brick flat-arched heads, projecting sandstone cills, and later timber frames and chicken wire set flush with the outside face. Ground floor window openings have been later 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 red brick walling has a similar moulded cornice to the main block, and the tower 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 of that is a wide doorway opening with sliding timber boarded doors. The sixth ground floor opening from the left is a doorway blocked with concrete blockwork. The tenth ground floor opening from the left contains a similar single metal-plated door.

South gable: plain red brickwork.

West elevation: Similar in character to the east elevation, except that the ground floor windows are closed up with concrete blockwork, as are the windows on upper floors at the extreme right-hand end bay; guttering is partly missing. Near the right-hand end is a later full-height red brick toilet stack containing openings in the north side. Three large metal duct pipes project from the right-hand half of the main wall. There is a lean-to red brick addition at ground floor level. At 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 at the left-hand end is a one-bay section of the later stairwell projecting from the north gable.

North gable: Four storeys with an attic storey, in brick with rusticated sandstone quoins at the corners, 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 its right. To the left of the lift shaft, one opening survives to each floor in the exposed part of the original gable: 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 a rectangular tongued-and-grooved sheeted double door with a similar fanlight, set in similar reveals; the second and third floor windows are as described for the east elevation, except that they contain forty panes instead of twelve; the fourth floor window is semi-circular headed, originally with small panes and radiating lights to the head, but now derelict.

The lift shaft rises to near the apex of the main gable. It is built in bright-toned red brick with yellow brick and sandstone or rendered cornice and a flat roof. To the front of the shaft there is an original blind rectangular window recess to each floor, with projecting sandstone cills and three courses of brick corbels to the head, except at the top floor where there is a circular opening with a yellow brick surround and a 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-arch head, the upper ones containing rectangular timber forty-pane windows, and the topmost one being semi-circular arched with small panes; the openings to the right-hand side are blind rectangular recesses as described for 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, and a slated roof. The openings to the left-hand bay are contained in a full-height semi-circular arched recess, the ground floor one blocked up, with plain reveals and a flat-arch head, the upper ones rectangular with small-paned timber frames, and the top one semi-circular arched with small panes and radiating lights to the head. The openings to the right-hand side 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, segmental arched; the ground floor window is timber twelve-pane, those above are forty-pane.

FORMER ENGINE HOUSE

Abutting the south gable of the main mill block is a two-storey single-bay block in red brick, topped by yellow brick to a 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 that is 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 the south side of this block.

THE OLD MILL

East elevation: Two storeys with a flat concrete roof. The walls are of rubble basalt with lime mortar, with a red brick parapet. Some ground floor windows have smooth cement rendered surrounds, though these are boarded over or closed up with corrugated iron, and have concrete cills. The first floor windows and the right-hand end ground floor windows have brick block surrounds; the windows are mainly rectangular timber six-pane. Just right of centre is a projecting section two openings wide and slightly taller than the rest of the elevation, containing one doorway at first floor level. There is a large later ground floor opening near the right-hand end of the block, a single doorway to the left-hand part, and a doorway at first floor level at the right-hand end, accessible by ladder.

South gable: Basalt rubble with a central projecting brick stack built in old hand-made bricks, with narrow slit openings to the left or west cheek.

West elevation: Of similar general character to the east elevation, with saplings growing at parapet level and a broken cast iron downpipe.

MILL CHIMNEY

The mill chimney is a tall tapering octagonal brick structure with a cornice of stepped and raised brickwork, and metal tie rods around its upper half. It stands detached to the east of the main mill building.

SETTING

The complex stands in a former mill yard in a rural area on the edge of Balnamore village. To the east of the mill is a block comprising three contiguous two-storey buildings known as the 'Office Block'. 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. The south part of the complex is a rough grass area; the east part is used as a vehicle scrap yard. Immediately to the 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. There are two sets of modern steel security gates 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 and 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 this first block on the south side is a middle block with a red brick west gable, two openings to each floor, with the upper doorway reached from the same balcony; the 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 further two-storey block with a modern monopitch roof, dry-dashed walls, and PVC windows.