Former Mill Building

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a detached single-storey former mill building, built in the later part of the nineteenth century. It is long and rectangular in plan and has a distinctive barrel vaulted ‘Belfast Truss’ roof. It is set approx. 100 metres to the Southeast of the Miller’s House (HB09/04/016).

The curved roof is covered in corrugated metal. The eaves with timber barge boards ending in a simple flat scroll at each end. Rainwater goods are replacement uPVC.

External walls are rubble stone with brick dressings to all openings.

The front West elevation is gable ended and faces onto a yard. It has two round-headed windows, which are now boarded up. There is a roundel to the centre of the gable at high level. All openings have brick surrounds.

The side South elevation is four bays in width. It has a square-headed window opening to the left, a large square-headed door, a further square-headed window, and a large square-headed door to the right. Windows have louvred vent coverings. Door openings have painted corrugated metal doors. There is a grain silo located to the far right of the South elevation, built up on a brick base with concrete block steps.

The rear East and side North elevations are covered by foliage to the boundary and are not visible.

Setting:
The former mill building is located approx. 100 metres to the Southeast of the Miller’s House (HB09/04/016). There is a large concrete yard to the South. There are a number of outbuildings and sheds surrounding the former flax mill. To the rear East of the building is a deep ‘shuck’, running South to join the Mill Race and the Ballinderry River.

This building is located within the Wellbrook Mill cluster of buildings. It is set at the end of a long lane leading from the North off Orritor Road. The access lane leads to a curved double entrance drive with a round garden in the centre, to the South of which a short lane leads to the former Mill. There is extensive landscaping and trees to the surrounds.

Historical information

The history of the present house and outbuildings at Wellbrook begins in 1764-65, when Hugh and Samuel Faulkner acquired land in the area and built a bleach yard (for a full history of the whole site see HB09/04/003). It was Samuel’s idea to add a dwelling house to the Wellbrook site, which was commenced in 1767, but not completed until 1779. The Faulkners did not prosper here and finally, in 1794, vacated the house and moved to Castletown in County Carlow.

On the OS map of 1833-34, the house is shown much as present, along with the large L-shaped outbuilding to the immediate west, which at that date stretched further to the south. The shorter block to the north-west is also shown (which has a date stone of 1764), with the mill itself set to the south on the edge of a large bleach green, and, to the north at the head of the drive, a small gate lodge. In the contemporary valuation book various structures, including the house, a ‘bleach office’ and other outbuildings (some thatched). The bleach mill itself is noted a ‘bleaching mill concern,’ sheds and other outbuildings and another mill structure. The mill, the valuers tell us, had ‘constant water power’ driving, three wheels worth £3 each. Lastly, the ‘gate house’ is noted with an accompanying thatched outbuilding, and the rateable value of the whole site, £43-6-0.

By 1858 the house had fallen into ‘a bad state’, with the bleach mill and offices ‘going to ruin also’. In 1860 the site was leased to a Samuel Bryson, who appears to have repaired and reopened the mill - the rateable valuation jumping to £50, £30 up on that of two years previously. In 1864 the lease was sold to James Leeper, the head of the Cookstown weaving firm of John Gunning & Co. It is likely that Leeper added some new structures to the site around this time and converted others, for two beetling mill and two scutch mills (rated at £45 alone) are recorded by the valuers in this year. From later maps (and evidence on site) we know that one of the beetling mills was contained within the outbuildings to the rear of the house itself, whilst one of the new structures was located to the south-east of the original mill.

In 1877 Leeper let the mills to Hugh Adair (of Greenvale). By the following year they were back directly with Leeper again, but only two (beetling) mills are recorded, each rated at £12. William Leeper, succeeded James, later acquiring the freehold from the Drum Manor estate. It is probable that within a few years of taking up residence William may have added the Belfast Truss-roofed outbuilding, however the valuations appear to make no reference to it.

In 1947, the presence of a saw mill is noted by the valuers, and one of the beetling mills to the south-east appears to have continued in use up until at least 1956. In 1959 the house and mills were sold to Mr. Samuel John Henderson of Coleraine. A J.A. Magee is listed as the owner in 1971. The single-storey extensions to the north and south sides of the house and the veranda to front appear to have been added in the early 1980s

Belfast Roof Trusses

The Belfast truss was developed in the mid-nineteenth century to meet the demand for efficient, lightweight and long span roofs brought about by the industrial revolution. A detailed description of the historical development of the Belfast truss is included in the record for HB18/08/139. In brief, the first known reference to a curved wooden felted roof structure supported by bowstring girders is in an advertisement in the Dublin Builder for 1866 by the Belfast firm of felt-makers, McTear & Co. McTear’s continued making trusses until they went out of business in 1908.

A second Belfast felt supplier, Anderson & Co., began to produce trusses, to a slightly different design, in 1886. In 1896, Anderson’s launched their Mk II version; promoted as maximising long spans whilst maintaining light weight. This model was subsequently used by other companies, and is referred to by historians as the Belfast truss, although this term is widely used to apply to all timber bowstring trusses where the internal bracing members meet not on the bottom of the truss as was the convention but on the top curved member.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI MIC/21, T/1617 Faulkner Papers, 1699-1839
2 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland...vol.20’ ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB, 1993), p.60
3 PRONI VAL/1A/6/29 OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 29, with valuation
references, 1833-34(-c.38)
4 PRONI VAL/1B/624 First valuation, Kildress parish, 1834
5 PRONI VAL/2A/6/29C OS map, Co Tyrone sheet 29, with valuation references, 1857(-58)
6 PRONI VAL/2B/6/23C Second valuation, Kildress parish, 1858
7 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14A Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1860-63
8 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14B Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1864-80
9 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14C Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1881
10 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14D Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1882-96
11 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14E Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1897-1912
12 PRONI OS/6/6/29/3 OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 29, 1906
13 PRONI VAL/12B/37/14F Annual valuation revision book, Oritor ED, 1912-29
14 EHS OS map, Co. Tyrone sheet 29, 1935
15 PRONI VAL/3C/7/6 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Oritor ED, 1936-57
16 PRONI VAL/4B/6/8 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Oritor ED, 1957-72

Secondary sources
1 Mid-Ulster Mail, 8, 15 August, 12, 26 September, 31 October 1925 [Articles about the Faulkner f family.]
2 Monahan, Amy, “An eighteenth century family linen business: the Faulkners of Wellbrook, Cookstown”, in ‘Ulster Folklife’ vol.9 (1963)
3 Rowan, A.J., ‘North west Ulster’ (London, 1979), p.328
4 McCutcheon, W.A., 'The industrial archaeology of Northern Ireland' (Belfast, HMSO, 1980), pp.234, 253, 263
5 ‘Mid-Ulster houses’ (The National Trust, 1996), pp.31-32 [Wellbrook Mill]
6. Green. E. R. R (1972) 'Restoring a beetling mill. Wellbrook, Co. Tyrone'. Country Life, August 24th 1972, pp476-477.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This is a well preserved example of a utilitarian building with an early Belfast Truss roof. The principal detailing survives and it has more architectural presence than most buildings of this type. It is a good and increasingly rare example of the genre. Belfast trusses were a somewhat short lived but elegant and economical solution to roof structures.

The original roof coverings and window frames have been replaced but in character for such a buildiong and it is otherwise in original condition.