Ballinlea Mill

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey/ single-bay later 19th C water-powered corn mill, complete with waterwheel and ancillary machinery, with an abutting single-storey lean-to (seed house) and two-storey store/ saw mill.

The headrace leads along the northern boundary of the site, falling from its point of origin to the NE of the Kilmahamogue Rd towards the mill. The Race is lined with randomly coursed stone to sides and larger stones to its base. The race joins the gable of the kiln building where a timber sluice gate still exists mid - span before it terminates at the head of the wheel.

Corn mill

The mill is aligned N-S with its entrance on its S gable; it measures 38ft 10in N-S by 22ft E-W and is two storeys high.
Pitched natural slate roof with plain verges and half-round plastic gutters. Walls are of random rubble with a corbelled brick eaves course. Unless otherwise stated, all openings have flat brick heads and jambs.
The S gable has a double-leaf timber entrance door to GF, a loading door at FF (with projecting sloping concrete cill), and a 2/2 sliding sash window to its apex.
The W elevation is partly abutted by a two-storey store (which also housed a saw mill). The exposed section of the mill proper has two GF windows: at left is a 2x4-paned metal-framed window (with stone cill), and at right is a brick-infilled window ope. There is also a 2x4 metal-framed window to FF. The FF stonework on this elevation contrasts with that to the GF. The latter is randomly laid with very crude quoins, whereas the former is brought to courses and has large roughly-dressed quoin blocks. This suggests that the entire building was raised from one to two storeys.
The N gable has a 2/2 sliding sash window to FF. In front of it is an overshot 14ft in diameter x 5ft 6in wide waterwheel set in a 7ft 3in wide stone-lined wheelpit. The wheel's axle, hubs and rims are of cast-iron, and the tie bars between the rims are of wrought-iron. The two sets of eight arms, 40 angled buckets, and sole plate are all of timber. Although the wheel was restored by the present owner in the relatively recent past, it is now idle and some of its buckets and sole boards are rotten.
The wheel is fed by a timber launder supported on a brick pier at the end of a rubble masonry headrace. The launder is a modern replacement of an original riveted sheet-iron one. There is a concrete-lined opening on the side of the race which acts as an overspill for excess water. Once it had passed over the waterwheel, the water was conveyed along an open tailrace through the store and then along a short culvert to the stream.
The E elevation of the mill is partly abutted by the single-storey lean-to (originally a seed house). There is a sheeted timber door into the mill at the S end of this elevation, with rudimentary porch (with corrugated iron roof) to front.

Seed house

This single-storey/ single-bay lean-to abuts the E elevation of the mill. Now empty, it was undoubtedly the seed house originally, into which the oats shells and weed seeds were blown during the oat shelling process. It measures 34ft 6in N-S x 7ft 6in E-W.
Monopitched natural slate roof with two metal-framed skylights but no RWG. Walls of random rubble with corbelled brick eaves, all in a similar style to the mill's FF. Brick-infilled windows to N and E elevations, and beaded t&g door to S end.

Mill store/ Saw mill

This two-storey/ single-bay building partly abuts the W side of the mill. It measures 35ft 6in N-S x 16ft 10in E-W. Its roof is detailed as the mill. The style of its stonework is identical to that of the mill's FF (including the corbelled brick course) and suggests that it was contemporary with the heightening of the mill.
The main entrance is on the S gable and comprises a double-leaf beaded t&g door (stone jambs). To its left is a brick-infilled ope. There is also a 2/2 timber casement window to FF (with concrete cill).
The W elevation has two GF shuttered opes, both with voussoired stone heads and stone jambs (no cills). Brick-trimmed loading door to FF (concrete cill).
The N gable has a doorway at GF (door missing; brick relieving arch and stone jambs), and a brick-infilled ope at left. There is also a 1/1 sash window to FF (slate cill).
The exposed E elevation spans the tailrace and is devoid of openings. Vestiges of cement flashing at its right-hand end indicate the former presence of an abutting single-storey building with a double-pitch roof.

Roofs: Natural slate.
Rainwater goods: None.
Walls: Random rubble stone.
Windows: Timber sliding sashes and multi-paned metal-framed casements.

There are also a number of mill-related buildings in the same complex.

Kiln
To the immediate E of the mill block is a two-storey former kiln. It is aligned N-S and measures 42ft 3in N-S x 18ft 3in E-W. It first appears on the 1857 OS map.
Replacement corrugated asbestos roof, vestiges of a gable chimney (presumably from the firehole), plastic RGW, and random rubble walls. There is a large sliding corrugated metal entrance door on the W elevation, and metal-framed window to left.
The drying floor has been removed and the interior is now used as a store for items of milling machinery salvaged from Clontyfinnan Mill. These include timber millstone furniture, cast-iron stone nuts and spindles, flat pulleys, shafts, bevel gears, and sluice gate pinions. Some original equipment from Ballinlea may also be present.
The kiln's S gable is abutted by a relatively modern greenhouse. The N end of its E elevation has a small two-storey random rubble return (formerly a store) which has been extended as a single-storey concrete block shed with monopitched corrugated metal roof.

Kiln man's house
On the opposite side of the laneway, S of the mill block, is a 1½-storey/ two-bay dwelling. It is aligned N-S and measures 34ft N-S x 17ft 9in E-W. There is also a small roofless single-storey/ single-bay extension on its S gable. This house was extant in the 1830s and is now derelict.
Pitched natural slate roof (in poor repair) and no RWG. The walls are of random rubble, but the S gable has been repaired with concrete blocks. On the W elevation is the central entrance door, flanked by infilled windows. All the openings have brick heads and jambs.
Just behind this house are four millstones: a pair of 60in diameter shelling stones and a pair of 52in dia grinding stones (possibly French burr). According to the owner, they are all original to Ballinlea.

Outbuilding 1
Just W of the above house is a small single-storey/ single-bay byre now very overgrown. It is first shown on the 1922 OS map.
Pitched corrugated iron roof and random rubble walls. No openings save for a doorway at W end of N elevation. A lean-to concrete block shed with monopitched corrugated metal roof has been built on to its E gable.

Outbuilding 2
East of the above house are the overgrown remains of a single-storey random rubble outbuilding. It is shown on the 1832 OS map.

Miller's house
At the NE corner of the complex is a substantial 1½-storey/ multi-bay dwelling It is aligned E-W and measures 47ft x 18ft 6in (excluding single-storey return on W gable). This was the miller's house and was extant in the 1830s. It has been refurbished and is the only building in the complex which is still in use.
Pitched natural slate roof, three eaves dormers to its S pitch, plastic RWG, cement-rendered walls and entrance porch to its S elevation.

Ice-house
To the immediate south of the Miller's house hidden by brambles is a roughly circular stone lined structure, only a few feet in diameter, with a stone lintel spanning south facing opening. Though small in size, its proximity to the river suggests an ice-house or similar structure.

Setting
The mill is on the right bank of the headwaters of Moss-side Water and is approached down a tree-lined single-track lane from the main road. The complex is surrounded by fields to all sides and a stream delineates its southern boundary.

Historical information

A "mill and kiln" are captioned on the 1832 OS six-inch map. The 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir describes it as a corn mill propelled by a 13ft diameter x 2ft wide breast-shot waterwheel.
The first Valuation book, also of 1835, notes its owner as James Stewart-Moore and that his tenants in two townlands were bound to it. The measurements of the buildings are given as follows: Corn mill - 39ft x 22ft x 8ft 6in, Corn kiln - 35ft x 19ft x 5ft 9in, Kiln man's house - 34ft x 17ft 6in x 6ft, and Miller's house - 33ft x 18ft x 6ft 3in. The mill was slated, but all the other buildings were thatched. There was only one set of millstones at that time (4ft 10in diameter). These would have been used for shelling and grinding oats, but were apparently only capable of producing one boll of meal per hour (140lb). The valuation also notes that there was sufficient water for almost five months in the year.
Interestingly, at a subsequent date unknown the heights given for the corn mill and kiln were increased to 16ft, the millstones from one to two sets, and the machinery revised from "middling" to "new". This suggests the raising of the mill from one to two storeys, and a reconfiguration of the machinery. The latter probably reflects a switch from a basic one-step gear change between waterwheel to millstones, to a two-step great spurwheel configuration. In all likelihood, the original waterwheel (13ft x 2ft) was replaced by the present larger one (15ft x 5½ft) at the same time
The 1857 OS map shows a similar site layout as 1832, but with the addition of several more buildings elsewhere on the premises, including the two-storey building adjacent to the mill which was formerly a kiln.
The 1859 Valuation notes James Stewart-Moore as the owner as before and describes the premises as "corn mill, three kilns, miller's house and offices, all with a rateable valuation of £26. It is also noted that "the mill was let at £30 some years ago". Unfortunately, the dimensions of the buildings and details of the machinery are not recorded in this instance, so it is uncertain whether the changes noted in the 1830s valuation had been carried out by then.
A Valuation revision book entry dated 1871 describes the complex as "corn and saw mill, kilns, miller's house and offices" and its rateable valuation increases by £10 to £36 (a 38% increase). A note in the margin also reads "saw mill and store house erected now". This suggests that the mill was enlarged around 1870/71 and the store added, the ground floor of which housed the saw. It is not impossible that the alterations to the mill and its machinery noted in the first Valuation book all took place at this time rather than in two separate episodes.
The 1904 OS map captions the complex as "Ballinlea Mill (corn)" and shows the site configured much as it is today. This is also in line with the mill having been refurbished some 30 years previously.
Interestingly, this map also shows an extension on the N gable of the store/ saw mill, just beyond the waterwheel. This is recorded in the 1901 valuation notebook as a slated rubble masonry building measuring 26ft x 18ft x 10ft, with a 38ft high chimney on its E gable. According to the valuation, it contained a "tatty engine and boiler". Given that there is a clean wall break on the NE corner of the store/ saw mill, the engine house must have been added sometime between 1871 and 1904 as a back-up to the waterwheel. The presence of the chimney indicates that it was a steam engine, but probably a very small one.
The 1901 valuation notes the mill as containing a pair of shelling stones and a pair of grinding stones, worked for half the year. However, the saw mill was only "working intermittently".
This valuation also records James S Moore as the mill owner, George Hutchinson as occupying the miller's house, and Robert Campbell the kiln man's house. By this time, the miller's house had assumed its current size, and both it and the kiln man's house were now slated.
The 1922 OS map shows a similar site configuration to 1904, but the engine house is now depicted as a roofless shell.
In 1926, Charles Glass took over the premises, which are now described as "corn mill, kiln and offices"; evidently the saw mill was now defunct. Mr Hutchinson was still living in the miller's house, but John Gillan had been in the kiln man's house since 1909.
Mr Glass was still milling in 1934, although the corn mill seems to have been defunct by then as it is not noted in the 1934 Valuation revision. The waterwheel is described as overshot and measuring 14ft x 5ft. The mill now contained three sets of millstones - two at 54in dia, and the third at 56in dia. It worked for six months in the year, with an average annual production of 3000 16-stone bags of meal (equivalent to 12 tons per week, a remarkably high output).
Mr Glass appealed to the Valuation Office in 1935 for a reduction in his rateable valuation. He wrote "I depend entirely on the neighbouring farmers oat crop and when that is all milled I have nothing to do the rest of the year". He continued "The buildings are all old and require considerable outlay yearly till keep in repair. Besides, the machinery is all old and expensive to keep running". His appeal resulted in a reduction of £4 to £18 in the mill's rating.
According to the present owner, Mr Glass continued to grind meal until the 1940s. Though unreferenced, local knowledge suggests that the mill also continued to mill corn up to 1940. (There is also a pencil mark on a beam within the mill which refers to Canadian maize coming from Portrush dated 1940.) It was Mr Glass who installed the electricity generator using a power-takeoff from the pulley which originally drove the sawmill. This development probably took place in the mid-1900s but when precisely is uncertain.
When precisely the small plate and roller mills were inserted is also uncertain. Messrs Corbett were awarded first prize by the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1890, so it must have been after this date, judging by the inscription on the plate mill.
The mill complex was subsequently repurchased by the Stewart-Moore family.

References - Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/8/1. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 8 (1832).
2. 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir for Ballintoy Parish. Reproduced by A. Day & P. McWilliams, Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of Co Antrim IX, 1830-39: North Antrim Coast and Rathlin, p.16 (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994).
3. PRONI VAL/1/B/131. First valuation book, p.12 (1835).
4. PRONI OS/6/1/8/2. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 8 (1857).
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/24A. Second valuation book, p.76 (1859).
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/6A-D. Valuation revision books, 1864-1929.
7. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/20. Valuation revision notebook, p.72 (1901).
8. PRONI OS/10/1/8/6/1. OS 1:2500 map, Co Antrim sheet 8-06 (1904).
9. PRONI OS/10/1/8/6/2. OS 1:2500 map, Co Antrim sheet 8-06 (1922).
10. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/3/D/1. Valuation revision boo, p.75 (1934-35).

References - Secondary Sources:
1. Report dated 19 Oct 1990 by Fred Hamond for Historic Buildings & Monuments Branch.
2. Messrs Corbett - Grace's Guide, .

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity
R. Age
T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

Architecturally, the block comprising the mill, store and seed house are of interest in exhibiting at least two phases of development - a single-storey late 18th/early 19th C corn mill and 1870s enlargement to its present form and multiple functions. It is one of a number of vernacular buildings within this complex, and its rural riverside setting is largely unchanged.

The original fabric of the mill block exhibits minor alterations which reflect its continuing use up to the mid-1900s. Of special note is the survival of the stone lining to the races and of the waterwheel. Although the three pairs of millstones and most of the power transmission gearing have been dismantled, the surviving power transmission to the roller and grinding mills are of historical interest in reflecting how milling technology changed during the 1900s. The mill was of economic value to the agricultural economy of this area and is of local industrial heritage interest.