‘Beetling Mill’

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Former two storey stone mill building with brick trims to openings, now roofless and derelict. Building aligns north west to south east and is situated in modern landscaping near the mill pond of the Roe Valley Country Park.

The north west gable of the building facing the mill pond has a two metre wide arch with semi-circular head on the ground floor centred on the elevation. Directly above a door sized opening opens onto the former first floor. It has a timber lintel though the gable wall above this point is now gone. There appears to have been a re-building of the gable in brick around the door.

The north east elevation rises only to first floor level - the wall above is now gone. A door is near the north west end, a window near the south east. In between, the wall has been rebuilt in brick in a number of places.

The south east gable is similar to the north west, though it only rises through half of the first floor. A brick arch is centred at ground level. Above a door sized opening has been bricked up.

The south west wall is covered in brambles. There are no openings and the height approximates with the north east wall.

Historical information

Indicated on the 1831 Ordnance Survey Map, though not marked as a mill. Millrace indicated proceeding from the centre of the present museum (HB02/03/015) to the centre of this building and then on to a third mill near the present power station (HB02/03/008) demolished before its erection in the 1880s. Likely part of the mill works associated with linen bleach greens at the nearby Largy Green and Roe Green. These were founded in 1766 by Lesley Alexander and ceased operation in 1831 explaining the lack of labelling on the map. The 1848 Ordnance Survey Map describes the building as an ‘old beetling mill’ suggesting that the building was reused by the linen manufactury established at Largy in 1833 by Richardson and Smith. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1834-5 this prepared linen yarn for weaving. Beetling was a later process after weaving to finish the cloth by giving it a shine as the result of continual hammering. If part of the manufactury it was post 1835. The building seems to have been disused once again in 1848. The 1907 map shows the mill stream continuing through the building but it is likely that by this time the stream was dry - all available water being diverted to the mill pond to give a head for John Edward Ritters power station. The building was probably converted to a barn. It is shown with a roof on the 1976 Ordnance Survey Map. It seems to have decayed rapidly since then.

References:

OSS 1830&1848
The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol. 25 p.120.
Electricity from the Red River NIE p.8.
Roe Valley Country Park Records.
Industrial Archaeology Record Reference 1680:5.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Ruined former mill building. Of historical interest for its association with the history of milling on the River Roe. Of little architectural interest.