Former flax mill, near 42 Lisnamulligan Rd, Rathfriland, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4XA

The site represents the remains of a substantial, but ruinous, water-powered linen mill, primarily of local historical interest, dating to the later 18th century, specifically between 1780 and 1799. It is located near 42 Lisnamulligan Rd, Rathfriland, Co Down, in the townland of Ballyaughian. The mill was built on the right bank of the River Bann.

The mill comprised two-storey sections at each end and a single-storey section in the middle. The roof has been entirely lost, and the walls are of random rubble and largely ruinous. Traces of a mill pond remain behind the site to the east, and a headrace extends towards the north end, indicating the position of an internal waterwheel. Concrete render on the headrace walls suggests possible use during the Second World War. The configuration of the pond embankment indicates a second potential water intake to the middle section.

The site was shown on a map around 1800 as a bleach mill and depicted on the 1834 Ordnance Survey 6-inch map as a flax mill. Valuation books from 1838 note the presence of a beetling mill, reflecting earlier use as a bleach or wash mill. The mill, owned by David Lindsay, measured 125 feet by 23 feet 6 inches by 8 feet. Two drying lofts were also present, serving as stores. The mill originally contained 14 stocks and two pairs of rollers, with a documented capacity to process 5000 stone of flax per year. An Ordnance Survey Memoir from 1836 noted a breastshot waterwheel with a diameter of 14 feet and a width of 2 feet 4 inches. A second valuation book from around 1861 confirmed Lindsay’s continued ownership, with the flax mill retaining 14 stocks and two sets of rollers, while the beetling mill contained two engines. A valuation revision book from 1884 documented the removal of eight stocks and the two beetling engines. The mill appears to have remained in operation until at least 1929. The site is now recorded as derelict and of industrial archaeological interest, currently used as a rural industrial site, and remains in private ownership.