Herdmans' Mill, Mill Avenue, Sion Mills, Liggartown, Strabane, Co Tyrone, BT82 9HE

Herdmans' Mill is a large, largely disused flax spinning factory complex at Sion Mills, Liggartown, on the west bank of the Mourne River. It originated around a converted corn mill predating 1832, but was largely rebuilt and substantially extended from 1853 onwards. The result is a disparate collection of buildings mainly dating from the later 19th and early 20th centuries, in various states of originality. The village of Sion Mills, which grew up directly as a consequence of the mill, lies to the west; a modern single-storey metal-clad mill building constructed around 1987–88 stands to the south.

The complex is considered possibly the most significant industrial heritage site in Northern Ireland.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The mill was established in 1835 by two brothers from Belfast, James and John Herdman, who had previously run the Winetavern Street Spinning Company in their home city since the 1820s. Wishing to expand, they acquired a 500-year lease of land at Liggartown, three miles south of Strabane, from the Duke of Abercorn, and adapted the old Seein Corn Mill for spinning purposes. They were initially joined in the venture by Andrew and St. Clair Kelburn Mulholland, owners of the York Street Spinning and Weaving Company, and a Robert Lyons, but both parties had been bought out by the Herdmans by 1849.

At first 75 people were employed in the newly adapted mill, but operations expanded rapidly: by 1853 the workforce had risen to 500, most of them living in housing the Herdmans had built along and off the main road to the west of the mill. By 1866 around 900 were employed, and by the 1870s over 1,000. By 1900 the village of Sion Mills, which had grown around the original mill workers' houses of the 1840s, was well established, with a population of around 2,000 by the mid-1920s.

One of the reasons the Herdman brothers were attracted to the site was the availability of a large volume of water throughout the year from the Mourne River. The original corn mill is recorded on the Ordnance Survey map of 1832–33 and noted in contemporary valuation records as measuring 86½ft by 28½ft by 32ft, with a further building measuring 54ft by 24½ft by 12½ft, and two water wheels; one of the wheels appears to have been replaced in 1845.

By the early 1850s, with production and the workforce growing, a new and much larger spinning mill — the main mill — was designed by William Henry Lynn and erected just to the west of the existing buildings. Measuring roughly 165ft by 55ft, it was built between 1853 and 1855 under the supervision of a John McCracken, with sandstone quarried at nearby Douglas. Brick was used for the vaulted ceilings, and the stair was contained within a five-storey Italianate tower. The total cost came to £15,500.

The Ordnance Survey map of 1855–57 shows the new building along with an L-shaped grouping to the south (where the administration block now stands) and a U-shaped building to the immediate south-west, with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway line (completed 1854) just beyond. At this stage there may also have been a small gas works to the north-west of the complex, though this is uncertain.

In 1867 the original corn mill building was rebuilt — still known locally as the Old Mill — and a new steam engine powering the main mill was installed at the same time. The tall mill chimney was built in 1877 at a cost of £600, and two years later a further storey was added to the Old Mill. A manager's house was built in 1881, followed by a recreation hall for mill workers in 1882. Much of the large single-storey block fronting the complex was added in 1884, extended with a two-storey section in 1888 and a two-storey machine repair shop to the north-west, probably around 1900. The single-storey building spanning the mill race also appears to date from around this time. Between 1900 and 1903 a turbine section was added to the Old Mill, and 1,200 horsepower engines replaced the old 600 horsepower water wheels. In 1907 a large buttressed four-storey gabled extension was added to the south-east of the 1850s main mill. Post-1910 expansion appears to have been concentrated mainly around the north-western and south-eastern extremities of the site, and a power house supplying electricity to the village was added in 1919. The new mill to the south was built in the late 1980s.

Sporting facilities for mill workers were provided by the Herdmans: a tennis court and bowling green to the west of the mill, laid out in the early 1900s; a cricket pitch to the north, in use since around 1864 — notably the ground where Ireland achieved a historic win over the West Indies in 1969 — and football pitches of more recent date.

THE ENTRANCE GATEWAY

The main entrance lies roughly at the south-west corner of the site, sandwiched between the main mill grouping to the north-west and the administration block to the south-east. It consists of a high sandstone wall with a large elliptical arched carriage entrance fitted with timber-sheeted double doors. The wall is topped with a cornice and blocking course, with a springing course to the arch, and the date 1835 is inscribed on the keystone voussoirs. This gateway appears to be all that survives of the original mill of the 1830s. Immediately to the left (north-west) of the gateway, between it and the main mill grouping, is a small porter's office with a flat roof and yellow brick façade. The south-west face of this office is curved and has a small window with a modern frame and a brass name plate.

A — THE MAIN MILL GROUPING

At the heart of the complex, to the north-west of the gateway, stands the very large main mill building, erected in 1853–55 to designs by William Henry Lynn. It is built in light sandstone with a hipped roof and rises to four storeys with an attic floor. To its south corner is a five-storey Italianate tower. Several substantial additions were made in subsequent decades, described in detail below.

A.1 — The Original Main Mill

The original portion of the main mill is four storeys high with an attic floor, topped by a slated double-pile hipped roof. The façade is mainly in light brown sandstone quarried at Douglas, a few miles to the south. The long south-west façade has a row of tall segmental-headed windows with timber frames to the first, second and third floors, with the ground floor obscured by the single-storey addition of around 1884. There is a corbelled eaves course to this façade.

To the right (south) side of this façade projects a five-storey Italianate stair tower in matching sandstone, also with a corbelled eaves course supporting a hipped slated roof topped with a small belfry of similar form. To the south-west face of the tower there are two segmental-headed windows to the second and third floors (matching those on the main façade), two taller semicircular-headed windows to the top floor, and two louvered roundels beneath. Just below eaves level there is a decorative string course with a springing course to the top-level windows. The south-east face of the tower largely repeats this arrangement. To the north-west the tower is only exposed at the top level, where there is a single semicircular-headed window as on the other faces. The north-east exposed face has a small extension in yellow brick, probably added between 1880 and 1900.

The north-east façade of the original main mill has rows of windows to each floor as on the south-west, but with the ground floor largely obscured by later single-storey additions. To the left of centre rises a narrow tower-like projecting bay in yellow brick, probably added in the 1880s or around 1907. This bay has windows to its south-west face matching the main façade (except for some roundels at the uppermost level), rises slightly above the main eaves, and has a corbelled eaves course and what appears to be a flat roof. At the far right of the north-east façade there is a much narrower projecting bay in sandstone that appears to be original, with small slit openings to its north-east face.

The short north-west façade of the original mill has witnessed much alteration and is now largely obscured by subsequent additions. The ground and first floor levels are entirely covered by a large gabled building that appears to be mainly rendered, but is itself largely obscured by various projections of mid-20th-century appearance with a purely functional look. The upper floors of the north-west façade are dominated by a large flat-roofed bay in yellow brick, possibly added between 1900 and 1907. This bay has two tall segmental-headed windows to the second and third floors on its north-west face, and a single similar window to both floors on the short south-west and south-east faces. There is an untidy modern metal fire escape to the south-east face. The section of the original north-west façade exposed to the right of the bay has a single window at both second and third floor levels, much as those on the bay.

A.2 — South-West Extensions

Attached to the south-west of the original main mill is a large two- and single-storey grouping, mainly in yellow brick, built in stages between around 1884 and 1907, apparently to house line preparation and machine repair operations.

At the south-east end of the grouping is a large two-storey, hipped-roof block (A.2.1) dating from 1888. This is relatively plain, with the yellow brick façade broken up by several sandstone string courses, including a cornice-like course between ground and first floor level and an eaves course incorporating a layer of brick arranged in saw-tooth formation. The south-east and south-west façades have rows of large flat-arch windows to each floor; those to the first floor on both façades — and the exposed first floor section of the north-west façade — are recessed and have pilaster-like brick piers between them. To the right, the south-east façade is abutted by the small porter's office described above, whose curving yellow brick façade links to the main entrance gateway. The north-east façade is now completely obscured by a two-storey flat-roofed extension also in yellow brick, which connects to section A.3. The north-west façade is only exposed at first floor level and has a row of windows matching those on the south-west and south-east faces.

To the north-west, block A.2.1 is attached to a large single-storey section (A.2.2) which abuts the original main mill to the north-east and a further two-storey section to the north-west (A.2.3). The south-west façade is in yellow brick and sandstone and closely resembles the first floor arrangement of block A.2.1, with a row of recessed large flat-arch windows and pilaster-like brick piers between them. The windows to the right half of the façade are smaller than those to the left, and the brick has a slightly lighter appearance, suggesting the block may have been built in two stages. The roof is largely made up of a series of northlights, though some sections to the far north-west are hipped, which may further support the idea of phased construction.

To the north-west, the A.2 grouping culminates in another two-storey block (A.2.3) closely resembling block A.2.1 to the south-east, with a hipped slated roof and largely identical façade and window arrangement, though it may have been built somewhat later, perhaps around 1907. A gateway abutting this block to the north-west spans across to an outbuilding further to the north-west (C.1). Several ground floor windows on this façade have been boarded over. The north-east façade is markedly different from the others, having a more distinctly Edwardian character: it is built in red brick, is double-gabled, and has many large segmental-headed windows to both floors, along with several timber-sheeted doorways and a large upper-level loading doorway. The south-east façade is abutted by the single-storey block A.2.2, but its upper storey arrangement closely matches the south-west and north-west façades, except that to the far right there is a doorway reached by an external timber staircase, currently in poor repair.

A.3 — 1907 South-East Extension

To the south-east end of the original main mill is a large four-storey (plus attic) gabled extension added in 1907. This extension is in yellow brick to the south-west and south-east gable end, and mainly in red brick to the north-east. The south-east gable presents an imposing, classical appearance with something of a mid-20th-century Eastern Bloc constructivist quality. It has a row of tall segmental-headed windows to each floor, broadly matching those in the original main mill. Between these windows are three prominent buttresses rising to second floor level. Above a dentilled eaves course, the gable tympanum contains three windows of varying size set into a recessed panel with flanking outer recesses.

The south-west façade repeats much of the detailing of the gable, but the buttresses are even more prominent and rise to third floor level. At first floor level this façade is abutted by the flat-roofed linking corridor from block A.2.1. The north-east façade is mainly in red brick but largely matches the south-west in its window and buttress arrangement. At ground floor level it is abutted by a large single-storey addition (A.4), and to the far left is a square-plan, tower-like projection in yellow brick with single windows at most levels on its north-east and south-east faces. This projection rises a full floor above eaves level and has a flat roof with a dentilled eaves cornice and blocking course. A metal chute or duct stretches from its south-east face to a building to the south-east (block D.2.2).

A.4 — Mill Race Building

Block A.4 is attached to the north-east side of the original mill (A.1) and the 1907 extension (A.3). It is single-storey, built in brick, and spans over the former mill race. It may have been built in two phases: the north-west end is gabled and the south-east end is double-gabled. The long north-east façade and the north-west gable are relatively plain painted brick, with a row of small windows and a door to the north-east. The south-east double-gabled façade is slightly more elaborate, with mildly decorative gable parapets and arch-headed windows, though the left-hand gable is almost completely obscured by a lean-to extension in yellow brick that may have been added around 1910.

A.5 — Later Functional Additions

Sandwiched between blocks A.2.3, A.2.2 and the original main mill is a somewhat untidy collection of extensions with a purely functional appearance.

The larger extension to the south-east (A.5.1) is two-storey with a part-gabled, part-hipped roof covered in asbestos slates. Its south-east, south-west and north-west façades are only visible at first floor level, all in cement render, with several louvered openings to the north-west and a large flat-arch window to the south-west.

Further to the north-west is a much smaller single-storey building (A.5.2) with a corrugated iron part-gabled, part-flat roof, visible only from the north-west where its façade is cement rendered.

Immediately to the south-west of A.5.2 is a very tall octagonal tapering chimney stack in yellowish-cream brick, now much discoloured, added to the site in 1877. The chimney has a slight tilt to the west at its uppermost level.

To the north-west of the original main mill is the largest building of the A.5 grouping (A.5.3), a two-storey gabled block with a corrugated asbestos roof and render to the exposed sections of its façades. To its south-east it is abutted by block A.5.2 and assorted duct paraphernalia, and to the north-west and north-east by a large L-shaped single-storey double-gabled building in red brick and render (A.5.4).

B — THE OLD MILL

To the north-east of the main mill grouping lies a separate group of buildings known as the Old Mill, sitting on a small island bounded to the north-east by the Mourne River and to the north-west, south-west and south-east by the culverted mill race. This grouping sits on the site of a corn mill predating 1832, which was itself converted to a flax mill in 1835 and subsequently replaced by the present main section in 1867, with a further storey added in 1879.

B.1 — The Old Mill

The central block (B.1) appears to have been built in 1867, replacing the pre-1832 converted corn mill, with a storey added in 1879. It is a double-pile three-storey block. To either side of the south-west face, at each floor level, are door openings — originally loading bay doors. The group to the far right still retains its external lifting beam, while those to the left have been converted to fire escape doors opening onto a fire escape stair. At each of the three levels there are fourteen evenly spaced windows, each tall and rectangular with a timber frame and six fixed panes. At first floor level the 5th, 6th, 10th and 14th windows from the left appear to have ventilation extract hoods projecting through the upper part of the frame.

The north-east face also has regularly spaced windows at each of the three floors — it is difficult to get a clear view, but there appear to be 18 windows per floor, with a number of ventilation hoods added to the upper windows. This face has a substantial area of under-building due to the slope of the river bank. The south-east face is mainly obscured by block B.3; a small visible portion to the left has a single segmental-arched window to the first and second floors.

The roof is finished in Bangor Blue slates and consists of two long adjoining pitched roofs with a central valley gutter and hips at each end. The eaves is hidden behind a parapet wall finished with decorative projecting brick corbelling. The walls are finished in plain unpainted render.

B.2 — The Turbine Section

Added around 1900, the turbine section (B.2) merges with the Old Mill to the north-west. The north-west gable has four windows to both ground and first floors. Throughout the block the windows are identical: each is tall with a segmental brick arch head and a timber frame with six fixed panes.

The south-west face has a projecting porch to the far left, containing a central door with a two-pane fanlight under a matching segmental arch head that rises slightly higher than the windows. To either side of the door is a standard window. The porch is flat-roofed with a stepped coping supported on a brick saw-tooth course. To the right of the porch are thirteen windows as described, with windows 9 and 10 from the left amalgamated to form a double door opening. Windows 3, 5 and 7 are partly obscured by large timber sluice gates controlling the flow of water into the turbine section. To the first floor are 16 evenly spaced windows.

The north-east façade could only be viewed from a distance; it appeared to have regular windows at first floor level as elsewhere, but is constructed in red brick. The block sits on ground sloping down to the river, so the north-east face has a substantial area of under-building. The south-east face is much obscured by the north-west face of block B.1; on the small exposed section there is a very lightweight fire escape stair formed from bolted-together angle irons.

The walls rest on a chamfered stone string course sitting on a prick plinth. At the roof wall-head, decorative brick corbels support a projecting stone string course above which is a small brick parapet. To the right side of the roof is a small flat-roofed brick room set at second floor level. Both the north-west and south-east elevations are built largely adjacent to the tail race, with the result that the door to the turbine section is entered via a short bridge.

B.3

To the south-east of B.1 is block B.3, which is two-storey and rectangular in plan with a small three-storey addition to the north-west corner. The south-west face of the main block has a row of arch-headed windows to the ground and first floors, though a clear view is not possible due to the position of block B.5. The south-east face has six similar windows to the first floor; the ground floor appears also to have had six windows, but the four to the right are now obscured by a large corrugated iron-sheeted enclosure housing a number of large extract ducts. Only a very distant view of the north-east face can be obtained; it appears to have rows of regularly spaced first-floor windows as elsewhere, with the ground floor obscured by a single-storey building (B.4).

The three-storey addition at the north-west corner has a semicircular arched recessed door opening to the left and a recessed segmental arch-headed window to the right at ground floor. At first floor there is a small stair window to the left and a larger window to the right. At second floor there is a small roundel window to the left and a small rectangular window to the right. The south-west face of this addition is finished in smooth unpainted render. The remainder of block B.3 is in red brick, and the two-storey element has a decorative corbelled coping parapet to its flat roof.

B.4

Attached to the north-west of block B.3 is block B.4, a single-storey brick building with a northlight roof. The north-east façade faces the river and has a series of evenly spaced windows along its length.

B.5

Block B.5 is a single-storey block set at an acute angle to the main block. It is timber-framed and finished in roughcast with a Belfast truss roof. The south-east gable has two widely spaced high-level windows, while the north-west gable has two similar windows with a wide timber-sheeted door at the centre. The long walls are both blank. The building is supported on cast iron stilts and sits directly above the tail race.

B.6

Block B.6 is located in the north-east corner between blocks B.4 and B.2. Like B.4, it is timber-framed, supported on cast iron stilts, and sits directly above the tail race. The Belfast truss roof is beginning to collapse in spectacular fashion.

C — GROUPING TO THE NORTH-WEST

The north-western part of the former mill complex is occupied by a disparate collection of buildings, mainly but not entirely dating from the 20th century. With a few notable exceptions, this group is largely plain and functional in appearance, with many buildings much altered in recent times. The area is strewn with sections of machinery and timber palettes, and certain buildings — primarily C.2 and the C.3 grouping — are in poor order.

C.1 — Former Outbuilding

Immediately to the north-west of block A.2.3 is a relatively small-scale two-storey former outbuilding, possibly dating from around 1870. Its façade is in snecked fieldstone with cream and yellow brick dressings to the openings and as quoins. The roof is hipped and slated with a tall yellow brick chimney stack to the south-east. The long north-east façade has a series of window and door openings to both floors; the first floor windows are generally relatively small and have security bars (some boarded). To the far left on the ground floor is a small single-storey lean-to in yellow brick and render with various window openings to its left. A modern metal staircase to the right leads to a first floor doorway. The south-west façade has a series of small windows to the first floor as on the north-east. At ground floor level there are a series of small vent-like openings, a relatively large window to the right, and a doorway. There is a single tiny boarded window to the ground floor on the short north-west façade and a larger ground floor window on the short south-east façade. A gateway stretches between this south-east façade and the north-west façade of block A.2.3, and just to the north-east of this gateway is a weighbridge.

C.2 — Former Recreation Hall

To the north-east of C.1 is a large two-storey gabled warehouse section with a plain functional appearance: a roughcast façade, modern window and doorway openings, and a gabled roof covered in corrugated asbestos and corrugated iron. The south-west half of this section was originally built as a recreation hall for mill workers in 1882 but now looks entirely modern. There is a curious single-storey flat-roofed glazed extension to the left on the south-east façade.

C.3 — Sheds and Warehouses

To the south-east of C.2 is a large and untidy conglomeration of single-storey sheds and warehouses of varying size and shape, in a general state of neglect. All appear to be 20th century, though the dates of construction could be widely spaced. The group consists mainly of a large modern-looking gabled warehouse to the south-west with a mainly metal-clad façade, a long brick building to the north-east with a corrugated metal curved (Belfast truss) roof, and some similar but much smaller buildings to the north and east.

C.4 — The Old Power House

To the east of the C.3 conglomeration is a split-level hipped-roof power house built in 1919, which supplied electricity to the neighbouring village of Sion Mills. It sits on the river bank to the north of the spillway channel of the old mill race. The south-west and south-east façades are in yellow brick with sandstone quoins, eaves course and springing course. The south-west façade has three large elliptically headed windows with metal frames and a semicircular-headed doorway with a timber-sheeted door and large fanlight. The south-east façade, which is set on the squint, has one window as on the south-west. The north-east façade could only be seen from a distance — from the far side of the river — and appears to be in red brick, though most of it was obscured by trees. The north-west façade was not clearly visible either, appearing to be obscured by a later lean-to-like section in painted brick, linked in turn to one of the Belfast truss roof sheds in the C.3 grouping. The hipped roof is slated and has a bank of rooflights. The cast iron rainwater hoppers bear the date 1919. The keystones to the window and door openings appear to be in concrete.

C.5

To the far south-west of the C grouping is a large shed with a curved Belfast truss roof and a whitewashed rubble and brick façade. To its north-west is an L-shaped outbuilding of apparently similar construction, though an overall view could not be obtained. It has been suggested these buildings may once have formed part of a small gas works.

D — THE ADMINISTRATION BLOCK

The administration block lies immediately to the south-east of the main entrance. It is roughly L-shaped, comprising a large two-storey, house-like office section to the south-west, and a further two-storey portion to the east which appears to have originally served as an outbuilding but now also houses offices.

D.1 — The Office Block

The house-like office block is two-storey with a slated hipped roof and appears to date from 1881, having been built as a manager's residence. The south-west (front), north-west and south-east façades are in yellow brick with sandstone quoins and two courses to the front; the rear is rendered. The front façade has 12 segmental-headed windows at ground floor level, unevenly spaced and of varying size, with the entrance to the left: this has a panelled and glazed door with a plain segmental-headed fanlight. Most windows have sash frames. To the first floor are 13 semicircular-headed windows with similar frames, also unevenly spaced. The short north-west façade has two smallish flat-arch windows at ground floor level and a partly glazed door, along with some decorative brick courses. The south-east façade has a single window with a modern frame set at an intermediate level to the right, and a modern concrete staircase leading to a walkway running along the south-east side of block D.2. The rear (north-east) façade has two segmental-headed doorways at ground floor level, both with panelled doors and plain fanlights, along with three similar-shaped windows with sash frames. There are five similar, unevenly spaced windows at first floor level. Block D.1 has a tall yellow brick chimney stack at the north-west end.

D.2 — The Outbuilding Return

Block D.2 appears to have been built as an outbuilding return for D.1, to serve as stabling and storage. It is two-storey, mainly gabled, and its façade is finished in a mixture of rubble, red brick and render. At the north-east end the building has a large warehouse section also in rubble and brick with a curved (Belfast truss) roof, possibly altered in the early 1900s. The south-west portion (D.2.1) is now converted to offices and linked internally to block D.1. Both the south-east and north-west façades have been much altered in recent years as a result of this conversion. The north-west façade is in random fieldstone rubble with brick dressings to the openings; the ground floor openings — including a large carriage arch and three windows — appear largely original with the exception of one window. The first floor openings appear to be largely modern insertions. The south-east façade is finished in render with a row of high-level modern windows and a doorway reached via the modern concrete staircase and walkway mentioned above. This walkway continues along the length of the façade, giving access to the warehouse section to the north-east (D.2.2).

The warehouse section to the north-east (D.2.2) is also two-storey. Its north-west façade is of similar construction to that of D.2.1, though most of its openings appear original (with the exception of a few first floor windows to the right). The north façade is set on the squint and is in rubble at ground floor level and brick at first floor level, suggesting alteration; it has two boarded-up window openings at ground floor and two sash windows at first floor. The curved roof is metal-clad.

To the south-east, block D.2.2 connects to a conglomeration of warehouses and sheds, all much altered over the years and some in poor order. Among these the most prominent buildings are three large warehouses. That to the north-west dates from the early 1900s and has a curved roof with a red brick and render façade and a large lean-to section in render and metal cladding to its south-east. To the south-east of this are two smaller warehouses, both apparently gabled with largely rendered façades: that to the north-west dates from 1908, the other from 1957. To the rear (north-east) of these warehouses are a series of smaller sheds, mainly in rubble and brick with curved roofs, generally much altered and in poor order.

E — SUNDRY BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

To the south of the original mill complex is the new mill (E.1), a single-storey metal-clad building constructed around 1987–88. Despite its large footprint it is surprisingly unobtrusive, largely owing to its low proportions.

To the west of the original mill is a large area (E.2) with a bowling green and tennis court, with a small timber pavilion to their west. This whole area appears to have been laid out in the early 1900s. To the north is a cricket pitch laid out around 1864, with football pitches of more recent date beyond.

Far to the south, on the Mourne River, is the weir originally constructed for the pre-1832 corn mill, though much modified in more recent years.