Glenavy Mill, Glenavy, Crumlin, Co. Antrim, BT29

This complex comprises a former mill owner's house of the late 19th century with an 18th-century annex, alongside an 18th-century corn mill, grain drying kiln, associated outbuildings, and remains of a mill pond with head and tail races. A number of related buildings formerly stood along the north side of the present complex but have been demolished to make way for recent housing development. The site is located at the northeast end of the village, on the east side of the road.

Mill House, Annex and Yard Outbuilding

The late 19th-century mill house is a symmetrical two-storey, three-bay polychrome building with full-height canted bays to either side. Aligned north to south at the southwest corner of the complex, it stands alongside an earlier one-and-a-half-storey annex behind it and a small yard outbuilding to the southeast.

The main house has a pitched natural slate roof with hipped cants to the two bays. A two-stage yellow brick chimney with moulded copings and dentil course rises from each gable. Cast iron ogee rainwater goods to the front are supported on a corbelled yellow brick eaves course over a brick dentil course. Half-round gutters to the rear are supported on an advanced rendered eaves course.

The principal façade is unrendered machined red brick in English garden wall bond with stepped yellow brick quoins and similar dressings to openings. The canted bays are yellow brick with red brick panels to each cant between ground and first floors. A chamfered yellow brick base course runs around the house. There is a continuous painted concrete sill course at first-floor level. The remainder of the main block, as well as its return and annex, have lined and rendered brick walls. All windows are one-over-one sliding sashes with horns unless otherwise stated.

The principal elevation faces west. At the centre is the entrance door, accessed by a broad tiled step and set within a segmental-headed moulded brick reveal. The door has four raised and bolection moulded panels with a beaded muntin to the centre; the top pair of panels are semi-circular headed and have a cast iron door knocker set between them. Set between the top and bottom panels is a large brass door pull. A segmental-headed transom sits over the door. Directly above at first floor is a segmental-headed window set in a moulded reveal.

To left and right of the entrance bay are the canted bays. Each of their three principal faces has a window to each floor, all set in moulded brick stop-end chamfered reveals. Those to the ground floor of each bay share a continuous painted concrete sill. Each central window is wider than its flanking windows, and those to the first floor are slightly diminished in height.

The left gable has two windows—one to the extreme left at ground floor and one set slightly to its right at first floor. The right gable is similar, but its windows are in line with each other and set to the right-hand side.

The rear elevation is abutted to left and middle by a one-and-a-half-storey return with a catslide roof; this was erected at the same time as the main block and is not a later addition. The left-hand section of this return projects beyond its right-hand section; they contain the bathroom and toilet, and the stairwell respectively. The right-hand section of the main block is abutted by the gable of a one-and-a-half-storey T-plan annex.

The left cheek of the projecting section of this return has a timber door with glazed top panel to the left and a top-hung one-over-one timber casement window to its right. Its front face is abutted by the tail of the aforementioned annex. Its right cheek is abutted by a modern flat-roofed one-storey link block, which also abuts the front face of the right-hand section of the return. The upper floor of this cheek has a top-hung one-over-one timber window at left. The right-hand section of the return has, to the front, a margin-paned two-over-two sliding sash to its upper floor lighting the stairwell.

The T-plan annex is aligned east to west. This was the original mill house. Its right side is flush with the gable of the main block and its tail projects south, parallel with the axis of the main house. The main section measures 14.5 metres east to west by 5.92 metres north to south. The tail measures 6.55 metres north to south by 4.47 metres east to west. It has a pitched natural slate roof with three rendered brick chimneys—one to each gable and a taller one to the south gable of its tail. Rainwater goods are half-round over a slightly advanced eaves course.

The north elevation has five openings, all timber top-hung casement windows with concrete sills (all remaining windows are as this unless otherwise stated). Its east gable has a window set to the right of centre in the apex. The south face is abutted to the extreme left by the house return and a link block, and to the left of centre by the tail section of the annex. The exposed section to the right of this tail has a window at left and a large two-pane vertically divided window at right. The east-facing elevation of the tail has a large side-hung timber casement window to the left and a timber entrance door with glazed upper panel to the right. The south gable of the tail is blank. The west face of the tail is abutted by the house return and the link block.

In the southeast corner of the rear yard is a small one-storey, single-bay outhouse aligned east to west. It measures 5.74 metres east to west by 3.99 metres north to south. It has a pitched natural slate roof with no rainwater goods. There is a machined red brick chimney to its east gable. Walls are random rubble, unrendered to the south face, lined cement rendered to the west gable, and wet dashed to remaining elevations. There is an advanced brick eaves. The west gable has a doorway; north and east elevations are blank. The south elevation has two infilled windows. A low random rubble wall connects the southwest corner of this building to the southeast corner of the house annex tail.

Between the front of the house and public road is a large tree-lined lawn, with a driveway along the north side from the road. This drive continues along the north side of the annex to outbuildings and mill at rear. To the southeast of the yard is a large grassed area.

Outbuilding 1

A two-storey, two-bay building to the north of the house, aligned east to west and measuring 18.54 metres east to west by 6.27 metres north to south. It stands 4.09 metres high at the southeast and 4.57 metres at the southwest. It has a pitched natural slate roof, wet dashed random rubble walls of rounded fieldstones, and advanced brick eaves. Plastic gutters are present.

The main elevation faces south to the access lane and is slightly bowed in plan. The left bay has a central tongue-and-groove sheeted door with small flanking windows; that to left is a six-over-six sliding sash, that to right has a two-over-two metal frame. The right bay has a central two-leaf tongue-and-groove door with timber lintel and is also flanked by small window openings. That to left is shuttered, as is that to the right, but the frame has fallen in.

The left west gable has a louvred and glazed window opening set at the centre of the first floor. The rear north elevation is exposed to first floor only due to bank slope. It has a three-by-three fixed window to the left bay (this was formerly a doorway) and a two-leaf tongue-and-groove door to the right bay. The right gable is accessed through a semi-circular headed opening from the front yard. It has a door at left and a shuttered opening with metal bars at right. At the first floor centre is a tall narrow loading door.

Outbuilding 3

A two-storey, three-bay to ground floor building aligned north to south immediately east of Outbuilding 2. It measures 13.77 metres north to south by 6.02 metres east to west and stands 4.57 metres high at the southeast and 4.88 metres at the southwest. It has a pitched natural slate roof, plastic gutters, wet dashed random rubble walls of rounded fieldstones, and advanced brick eaves. All openings have brick trim unless otherwise stated.

The principal elevation faces east. The ground floor has a pair of large modern metal doors at the left end. It has concrete block jambs and a reinforced concrete head. It is uncertain if this is a modern insertion or an enlargement of an existing opening. To the right of this opening is a boarded-up window opening. The ground slopes up to the right end of the façade.

The first floor is four openings wide: from left is a two-by-two fixed window, a one-by-three fixed window, a segmental-headed loading door boarded over, and an infilled window opening with shallow segmental head. There is evidence that there was a pitched roof porch to the loading door. This formerly connected with a similar doorway on Outbuilding 4.

The south gable has a window opening to the first floor centre. The rear west elevation has two door openings—one to the left bay and one to the middle bay; both have masonry jambs, not brick. A projecting masonry string course runs just below the present wall head across the left and middle bays; this may be a former wall head with a subsequent raising. At first floor right there is a loading door with machined red brick jambs. To either side of this opening is a small window opening. The right gable is exposed to first floor only. It has a door opening to the left end.

Former Grain Drying Kiln

A two-storey, two-bay building aligned east to west and situated east of Outbuilding 3. It measures 14.5 metres east to west by 8.59 metres north to south and stands 2.69 metres high at the southeast and 3.81 metres at the southwest. It has a pitched natural slate roof with half-round rain gutters missing. All walls are unrendered random rubble but retain traces of former lime render, with advanced stone eaves. All openings are trimmed in brick. The west gable is wet dashed cement.

The principal elevation faces south to the yard. The ground floor has a modern roller shutter door at the left end of the right-hand bay and a small window opening to its right. The left bay has an infilled window opening but no other openings are now apparent. At the right-hand end of the first floor is a three-by-two pane window.

The left west gable has a semi-circular headed window at first floor left, now infilled, with evidence of a former porch to the front (formerly with a link to Outbuilding 3). On the gable apex is an infilled window opening to the centre.

The rear north elevation is exposed to first floor only. It has two door openings, both set back from the wall line. That to left is a tongue-and-groove sheeted door set in an opening with cement render jambs. It is accessed by three concrete steps and platform to the front. To the right is a pair of tongue-and-groove sheeted doors. The right jamb of this opening is of concrete blocks, indicating a widening of the original opening. The right gable has a metal-framed window to the apex.

Corn Mill

A three-storey building, including basement but excluding attic, comprising a single bay mill aligned east to west at the southeast end of the complex. It measures 19.89 metres by 6.86 metres. It has a pitched natural slate roof with no rainwater goods. Random rubble walls have advanced stone eaves. Walls are unrendered to east and south elevations and wet cement dashed to west and north; they were probably lime rendered originally.

The yard-facing north elevation is almost completely abutted to ground floor by a single-storey, three-bay return. The exposed left end of the main block has a large pair of timber doors to ground floor and a loading door to first floor now sheeted over. To its right, along the first floor of the main block are four regularly spaced three-over-six sliding sash windows, all with concrete sills.

The return which abuts the ground floor measures 16.0 metres by 2.62 metres in plan. It has a monopitched slate roof and walls as the main block; brick quoins are also evident underneath the wet dash. Its left and right cheeks are blank. Its north face has a three-over-six sash window to the left bay, another to the middle bay, and two contiguous semi-elliptical entrance arches to the right bay. Both the windows have concrete sills.

The left east gable of the main block has a sill-less three-over-six sash to the apex. The rear south elevation has a skylight to the roof pitch. Two waterwheels occupy the left-hand half of the basement.

The ground floor has four window openings; from left these are a three-over-six sliding sash, a six-over-four sliding sash, a boarded opening, and a two-over-two side-hung metal casement. At the extreme right is a stone-infilled window opening from which rises a shallow brick pilaster of unknown function to eaves level.

The first floor has five equally spaced windows; all are boarded up with the exception of the two at the left; the first is a three-over-six sash and the other a six-over-four sash.

The right gable has an exposed basement level. It is abutted at the right end by a single-storey seed house. The exposed section has, to external ground level, a tongue-and-groove sheeted door with large timber lintel. To its immediate right, and sharing its head, is a three-by-three pane window. The ground floor and first floor are blank. There is a window opening to the apex.

The seed house has been refurbished in the relatively recent past. Its dimensions are 3.35 metres east to west by 3.51 metres north to south; it stands 2.74 metres at its southwest corner. It has a pitched natural slate roof with no rainwater goods. Walls are of unrendered random rubble with advanced brick eaves. Its west gable has a modern partly glazed timber door to the centre and a modern two-by-three pane window with concrete sill to the apex. The apex is of concrete blocks; the roof may have been hipped originally. The left cheek has a modern three-by-two pane window with concrete sill. The right cheek is blank.

A random rubble wall runs from the southwest corner of the seed house to the southeast corner of the yard outbuilding described in the first section. An opening gives out onto a small modern footbridge over the tailrace.

Waterwheel and Waterworks

Unusually, the corn mill has two waterwheels, both on the south-facing elevation. Both are pitchback—that is, fed from the one o'clock position and rotating anti-clockwise when viewed from the south.

Looking towards the mill, the left wheel measures 4.57 metres in diameter by 1.25 metres wide. Its circular axle, hubs and 30-centimetre deep (12-inch) rim are all of cast iron. Its two sets of eight arms, 40 angled buckets and soleing are of timber. The metal components are sound, but the timber is in very poor condition. The wheel's rotative power was transmitted through the axle.

The right-hand wheel is set out from the sidewall of the mill. It measures 4.72 metres in diameter by 1.25 metres wide. Its circular axle, hubs and 34-centimetre deep (13.5-inch) rim are all of cast iron. Each of the eight rim segments carries its maker's name: "Kane Bros Ballymena". The wheel's two sets of eight arms, 40 angled buckets and soleing are all of timber. As before, the metalwork is sound but the timber has rotted. The power was transmitted into the mill through an iron segmental spurwheel affixed to the inner arms. This drove a small iron pinion (bull nut) at the three o'clock position, from which a shaft gives into the basement of the mill.

Both wheels are fed from a launder running in from the east. The first half of this trough has concrete blockwork side walls and a cast concrete floor resting on two concrete piers. The remainder of the trough, as far as the right-hand wheel, is of timber and rests on a rubble stone wall at one end and a cantilevered metal beam at the other. Its cross-sectional width is 94 centimetres (37 inches).

The water was directed into the first wheel by a flap in the floor of the trough. This was activated by means of a shaft and connecting link from inside the mill. This orifice has been infilled with concrete, presumably so that all the water could be used by the second wheel in later years. The trough continues on and then makes a dogleg towards the second wheel. This section of troughing is now missing.

Immediately east of the complex of buildings is a small millpond, now infilled and gravelled over to create a hardstand. Two concrete pipes under the main road on its eastern boundary are still open. A random rubble wall runs around its northern and southern sides but has been removed at the northwest corner and west side. At its southwest corner, just before the intake to the launder, is an inclined pitched rubble spillway. At the bottom of the spillway is an underground pipe which returns the water to the adjoining stream. The tailraces to each wheel merge into a single channel which returns the spent water to the stream.