Dromore Mills, 64 Baranailt Road, Limavady, Co Londonderry, BT49 9HN

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

The block is located on the N bank of the Bessbrook River. It is aligned north-south with a three-storey/ single-bay corn mill at north and a two-storey/single-bay flax scutching mill at south. It is associated with a former mill owner's house (HB02/03/034A) and the Lower Mill Complex which includes another corn mill, kiln, seed house and outbuildings (HB02/03/034B).

Corn Mill
The corn mill has a pitched natural slate roof with concrete verges but no rainwater goods. The walls are of random rubble with advanced brick eaves and vestiges of whitewash. There are handmade brick quoins at FF and SF levels at NE and NW but only at SF level at SE and SW. Unless otherwise stated, all window and door openings have brick heads and jambs; the FF opes all have timber heads unless otherwise stated.
The principal elevation faces E and is blank save for a GF door and 2x1 replacement window, and also a shuttered ope above the door at FF level. A small louvred ope has also been inserted to the right of the GF window (in the 1960s) to provide ventilation for the Lister electricity unit inside.
The N gable is cut into the slope such that only the FF and SF are exposed. However, there is a narrow gap at GF level between the gable and the bank retaining wall to minimise water seepage. At FF is a folding two-leaf timber door. A metal scrap secures the bottom of its right-hand frame (looking towards the mill) and bears the inscription 'Jack & Sons Maybole'. This was one of Scotland's leading makers of agricultural implements such as reapers, potato diggers and ploughs. The strap is possibly from one such piece of machinery as it is unlikely to have been purpose-made to secure the frame. At SF on the same gable is a lattice-iron window. Just below it are insulated terminals for overhead wires which carried electricity from the generators in the corn mill to the mill owner's nearby dwelling house.
The W elevation is abutted at GF and FF right by a mass-concrete pier supporting the end of the headrace launder (the present structure probably dates from the 1940s). The abutted section was probably open originally as indicated by the brick jambs up the wall on either side of the pier. This opening would have facilitated access to the waterwheel which preceded the internal turbine. The bottom of the headrace slopes down to FF level whence the water flowed through a metal trash rack into the diagonal pipe to the turbine. At SF level, above the launder, is an original window opening which was subsequently infilled with brick and into which a smaller 2x4-paned timber window has been set. The original ope's timber head has also been replaced with concrete. At SF left is a doorway accessed up three concrete steps from outside ground level via an earthen ramp at S. There are otherwise no opes on this elevation.
The S gable is abutted to GF and FF by the flax mill. Its exposed section has no openings.

Flax Mill
The flax mill also has a pitched natural slate roof but no verges or rainwater goods. Its walls, eaves and openings are detailed as the corn mill. There are brick quoins at FF level at SE and SW. As with the corn mill, however, its GF corners are of stone. Wall breaks on the S gable clearly show that it was heightened from one to two storeys, with brick quoins being used on the raised section. The N gable was probably raised in the same way.
Although the present owner has rebuilt some of the E elevation to prevent it collapsing, there are no obvious wall breaks between it and the corn mill. This suggests that the block was originally a single-storey/ two-bay unit which was subsequently (c.1900) raised to three storeys at N (corn mill) and to two storeys at S (flax mill).
The E elevation is four opes wide to GF and comprises alternate doorways and shuttered opes, all with brick heads and jambs. There are also two loading doors at FF, in line with those below. All these opes are trimmed with brick and have replacement doors and shutters.
The S gable has a 2x1-paned timber window with stone head and jambs to its GF. Its ope contrasts with the brick-trimmed ones in the rest of the block and supports the contention that the GF of the building is earlier than its FF. There is also a small 2x1-paned window in the gable's apex.
The W elevation is blank save for a GF doorway fitted with a relatively modern steel security door.

Materials
Roof: Natural slate.
Rainwater goods: None.
Walls: Random rubble.
Doors: Replacement timber.
Windows: Replacement timber shutters.

Historical information

The earliest reference to a flax mill in Dromore Townland is 1825 when David Forrest (possibly a Land Agent for Robert Ogilby, the townland's landlord,) acquired 22 acres and a half share in a flax mill. This mill is undoubtedly the one under review.
Although a building and associated races are depicted on the 1830 OS six-inch map, none are explicitly captioned, nor is the mill cited in the 1831 Valuation. At that time the property belonged to a Mr Robinson who operated a corn mill a short distance downstream on the same property (HB02/03/034B). It was probably Mr Robinson who held the remaining half-share in the flax mill.
The flax mill is again mentioned in the 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir. A 14ft head of water powered a 12ft diameter by 1ft 8in wide breast-shot waterwheel. A 7ft cog wheel drove four scutching rings, each of which had six handles and were capable of processing 1½ cwt of flax per day. All the machinery was of timber and in bad repair. Moreover, the mill was also idle in summer "from want of water". This suggests that the mill may not have been fully operational and would explain why it was not cited in the 1830 map or 1831 valuation.
In 1838, Mr Morrison advertised his half-share in the flax mill (Mr Forrest held the other half) for sale along with the corn mill, kiln and dwelling house in the Lower Mill complex. The property was purchased by John Gilfillan, great-great-grandfather of the current owner.
A flax mill is explicitly captioned on the 1848-52 OS map. It is also described in the 1856 Second Valuation as "a very small building" containing four scutching stocks, three of which worked for six months in the year, at six hours per day on average. The same mill is recorded in the official Flax Mill Returns for 1855 as having four stocks and 16 handles (as in 1835) and working for 16 weeks in that particular year.
The flax mill and its associated store were noted in the 1860 Valuation revision book as belonging to John Gilfillan and David Forrest. Within a couple of years, however, James Forrest had acquired David Forrest's half-share. According to the official Flax Mill Returns, the mill worked for 32 weeks during the 12-month period ending May 1865.
The Valuations and Mill Returns data are at odds with one another for the years around 1870. The 1869 Valuation records the flax mill as vacant. This accords with the Returns for the year ending May 1869 which do not record any weeks of operation. According to the valuations, it then remained empty until reoccupied in 1878. This contradicts the 1871-72 Returns which notes it as working.
Intriguingly, the 1866-67 Mill Returns also notes the first appearance of a second flax mill in the same townland. It contained six stocks and is cited in the Returns until 1872, after which itemisation of flax mills by townland ceases. This new mill is also recorded in the Valuation revisions - but not until 1874 when it is described as powered by steam and belonging to John Gilfillan. Whereas the four-stock mill is in Valuation plot 2B Upper Mill complex), the steam mill is in plot 2A which is the Lower Mill complex. The steam mill disappears from the valuations after 1876, implying that it had ceased working.
In 1877, the flax mill in the Upper Mill complex was destroyed by fire. The County Londonderry Grand Jury initially deemed the fire to have been malicious (there had also been an attempt to damage the corn mill) and ruled that Messrs Gilfillan and Forrest would receive £150 compensation. However, they subsequently decided that it was not arson after and reduced the sum to £120.
As noted above, the Valuation revision books note that the four-stock mill was reoccupied in 1878, this time by James Forrest. It would thus seem to have been repaired. In the same year, two "little boys" were fined one shilling plus costs for maliciously damaging the flax mill's waterwheel.
Around 1888, Henry Tyler took the mill over from Forrest. After Tyler's death in early 1897, it then passed to John Gilfillan's son, John Moore Gilfillan (henceforth John 2). According to Gribbon, Mr Gilfillan installed a Kennedy turbine in place of the waterwheel to drive it.
Interestingly, the 1905 OS map captions a corn mill rather than a flax mill at this location (there was also a corn mill in the Lower Mill complex). Moreover the building's footprint is the same as now (2020) and considerably bigger than shown on the 1830 and 1852 maps.
The balance of evidence suggests that the original waterwheel which drove the flax mill was replaced by the Kennedy turbine and the present five-stock scutching machinery installed in place of the four original stocks. It would seem that John 2 also took the opportunity to install the present corn milling machinery for animal feed. An interchangeable gear fitted to the top of the turbine shaft enabled either the scutching equipment or the millstones to be operated (but not both at once).
Not only do the maps show the footprint of the 1830s/'50s flax mill to be much smaller than the 1905 depiction, but the former would almost certainly have been a single-storey. When was it enlarged to its present form? Unfortunately the valuation books continue to rate the flax mill at £8 from the 1860s to 1920s, so any changes seem to have gone unrecorded. There would have been no reason to have enlarged the building after the fire as scutching seems to have continued much as before. The building is most likely to have been enlarged around 1900 when the new plant and machinery were installed.
In short, it would seem that when John 2 took over the flax mill from Mr Tyler c.1900, he enlarged the earlier building, replaced the waterwheel with a turbine, upgraded the flax mill from four to the present five stocks, and added a corn mill which shared the turbine with the flax mill.
As will be noted in the site description, the present flax mill has five stocks, but there is also a sixth scutching ring lying loose on the GF. This raises the intriguing possibility that John 2 moved the redundant six-stock scutching machinery in the Lower Mill to the Upper Mill. However, it was necessary for him to remove one of the scutching rings to give the shaft sufficient length to pass through the party wall and connect up to the turbine drive.
How long the corn mill was operational is uncertain as the Valuations continue to record the entire block as a flax mill. By 1911, it had passed from John 2 to his son, also John (John 3, the present owner's grandfather). According to the valuations, John 3 continued to operate the flax mill through the first world war and into the 1920s; it is captioned as a flax mill on the 1923-24 OS map.
The 1934 Valuation notebook records that the flax mill stopped c.1928 and was "unlikely to work again". The north portion of the block measured 23ft x 22ft x 25ft (3 storeys) high, and the south part 36ft x 22ft x 18ft (2 storeys).
Although there is no subsequent mention of the flax mill in the valuations, it did, in fact, restart during the Second World War. Scutching ceased at the end of the war.
In 1947, John Gilfillan (the present owner's father), connected the turbine up to an DC dynamo to supply electricity to light his nearby house. This system was superseded c.1963 by a diesel-powered Lister 'Start-O'Matic' AC generator. The block is shown uncaptioned on the 1975 OS map.
Around 2005, the present owner rebuilt part of the east wall (which was on the verge of collapse), re-slated the entire block (using original slates where possible), fitted replica doors and shutters and also a metal securing gate at the back of the flax mill.
In summary, the available evidence suggests the following sequence of development:
1. Early-Mid 1800s: Small flax mill containing four stocks powered by a waterwheel.
2. 1877: The flax mill gutted by fire but is repaired and put back into operation.
3. About 1900: John 2 enlarges the original single-storey flax mill to two storeys and re-equips it with five scutching stocks. He also adds a three-storey corn mill. The waterwheel is replaced by a turbine to drive both mills.
4. 1920s: The mill stops around 1928.
5. 1940s: The flax mill is restarted during the second world war but stops again c.1945.
6. 1947: An hydro-electric generating unit is installed and operates until replaced by a diesel-powered generator in 1963.

References - Primary sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/5/16/1. First edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Londonderry sheet 16 (1830).
2. PRONI VAL/1/B/521A, p.38; /521B, p.7; and /521C, p.2. First Valuation book: Tamlaght Finlagan Parish, Dromore Townland (1831).
3. 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland vol.25: Parishes of Co Londonderry VIII, pp 83 and 121, eds A. Day & P. McWilliams (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994).
4. Derry Journal, 31 Aug 1838, p.1.
5. PRONI OS/6/5/16/2. Second edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Londonderry sheet 16 (1848-52).
6. Proceedings of the House of Commons: Agricultural Returns for Ireland. Scutch Mill Returns for 1855, 1865, 1867, 1869, and 1872.
7. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/24A. Second Valuation book (1856).
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/24A. Valuation revision books, 1860-63, p.48 (plot 2B).
9. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/24B. Valuation revision books, 1864-82, p.51 (plot 2B).
10. Coleraine Chronicle, 19 May 1877, p.6 (malicious fire).
11. Ballymoney Free Press & Northern Counties Advertiser, 26 July 1877, p.2 (malicious fire).
12. Northern Constitution 31 Aug 1878, p.8 (damage to waterwheel).
13. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/24C. Valuation revision books, 1883-98, p.66 (plot 2B).
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/24D. Valuation revision books, 1898-1915, p.76 (plot 2B).
15. PRONI OS/10/5/16/3/1. First edition OS 1:2500 map, Co Londonderry sheet 16-03 (1905).
16. 1911 Census of Ireland.
17. PRONI VAL/12/B/31/24E. Valuation revision books, 1915-29, p.27 (plot 2B).
18. PRONI OS/10/5/16/3/2. Second edition OS 1:2500 map, Co Antrim sheet 16-03 (1923-24).
19. PRONI VAL/3/D/6/5/Y/3. Valuation revision notebook (1934).
20. PRONI VAL/3/B/6/6. Valuation of Rural District of Limavady, vol.2: The Highlands Electoral Division (1935).
21. PRONI VAL/3/E/5/3B. Valuation of Rural District of Limavady: The Highlands Electoral Division (1936-54).
22. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/6. Valuation of Rural District of Limavady, vol.2: The Highlands Electoral Division (1936-57)
23. PRONI OS/11/29/9/1. First edition OS IG 1:2500 map sheet 29-09 (1973).

References - Secondary sources:
1. R. Forrest Jnr, The Forrest Family of Limavady and the Roe valley, c.1655-1918 (2009). Downloadable at via Google search on article title. Relates to Forrest's 1825 acquisition of half-share in flax mill.
2. H.D. Gribbon. The History of Water Power in Ulster, p.252 (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969).
3. Grace's Guide,
4. Information from current owner, March 2020.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
H+. Alterations enhancing the building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This is the upper portion of a large mill complex, located approximately 5km west of the town centre of Limavady, off a laneway on the south-east side of Baranailt Road. It consists of a three-storey corn mill and headrace launder with an attached two-storey flax scutching mill located on the northern bank of the Bessbrook River. These mill buildings have group value with the Lower Mill Complex (HB02/03/034B) and the Mill House (HB02/03/034A), both situated to the immediate NE, adjacent to the Mill Pond. Architecturally, its style is typical of the many water-powered flax and corn mills which were operational in the Ulster countryside during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Historically, most of the mill's fabric appears to date from c.1900 but vestiges of an earlier mill are also evident. Flax mills, once ubiquitous in mid-19th century Ulster, are now rare, especially completely intact examples such as this one, which used an interchangeable gear to drive one or other mill at a time. This example also illustrates how mills which became redundant after the Second World War could be repurposed, in this case for electricity generation. When operational, the flax mill was also of economic importance to the local agricultural economy as it provided flax growers with a facility to have their crop scutched before exchanging it for cash at the local flax market. The complex is also of social interest in having been owned by the same family for five generations since the 1840s.

General comments

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