Water mill - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

The 1641 Survey of Mullingar recorded the existence of ‘one mill commonly called Mullynnehouny, lying and being from the bridge (WM019-089015-) on the north, Hamons land on the east, Priorstreet (Austin Friars St.) on the South, to the town of Mullingar (WM089-019----) aforesaid on the west’ (Andrews and Davies 1992, 15). This mill was also known in the 17th century as Hamon's Mill. The 1641 Survey of Mullingar recorded the existence of 'Hamon's mill commonly called Mullynehouny' (Ibid.). In 1641 William Hamon was a merchant in the town of Mullingar. In 1667 the confirmation of a land grant to Sir Arthur Forbes under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation described the monument as 'Mullenehehownes Mill' (NLI p 1895).
In 1682 Sir Henry Piers recorded that ‘the name of the town if Englished, imports the short mill; indeed in my time, here hath been an over-shaft mill (WM019-089006-) of the least wheel that ever I saw, which with buckets and all was not eight foot (2.4m) in diameter, but now it is converted into a breast mill. There are also in this town on the same water [River Brosna], two other mills (WM019-089033-; WM019-089038-) (Vallancey 1786, 77). These two mills were probably the tucking mill called Francis's Mill (WM019-089033-) and Hamons Mill or Mullynnehouny Mill. A building standing on the E bank of the River Brosna which is depicted on the 25-inch OS map may have incorporated or was built on the site of 'Mullynnehouny Mill'.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 1 July 2014

References

Andrews, J.H. and Davies, K.M. 1992 Mullingar. Irish Historic Towns Atlas, No. 5. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy.

Vallancey, C. (ed.) 1786 Collectanea de rebus hibernicis, Volume 1. Dublin. Luke White.

NLI, p 1895 – National Library of Ireland, microfilm copy of the abstracts of grants under the acts of settlement and explanation, 1666-1684. Dublin. National Library of Ireland.