Corn Mill

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Tully mill complex comprises: (1) a water-powered corn mill, (2) kiln, and (3) waterworks. It is situated on the north-east side of a minor road along the northern boundary of Florence Court Demesne and was originally part of the estate.

1. Corn mill

The mill is located a short distance east of the kiln, on the left bank of small river which supplied it with water. It is a two-storey/ single-bay rectangular building aligned east-west. It measures 11.10m x 7.01m in plan and stands to a maximum eaves height of 4.80m (36ft 5in x 23ft 0in x 15ft 9in).

Although the roof has completely collapsed, the gables show it to have been of half-hipped profile. Internal debris shows it to have been slated, with stone ridge pieces. The walls are of squared and coursed rubble sandstone with finely dressed sandstone eaves. The use of brick is evident on the inside of the door and window reveals. The walls are now overgrown with ivy but nevertheless appear to be structurally sound. None of the door or window opening retains it frame.

The building is cut into the hillside such that only the first floor is visible on the north elevation. There is a wide doorway just left of centre, and a window opening to its left. Leaning against the wall at right is a one-piece conglomerate bedstone; it measures 152cm (60in) in diameter by 40cm thick at centre.

The east gable is fully exposed to both floors. To ground floor centre is the main entrance, with a shallow segmental brick relieving arch over its dressed stone lintel. At right is a narrow window opening with vertical metal security bars over. Over the door, at first floor level, is a window opening, also with metal bars over.

The south elevation faces to the river. Just left of centre is a window opening to the ground floor. At ground level, at the left end, is a small drainage hole from the pitwheel pit. The first floor is devoid of openings.

The west gable has a window opening to first floor centre, with security bars over. The external waterwheel is positioned just right of centre.

The waterwheel is breast-shot and measures 427cm in diameter by 99cm in width (14ft x 3ft 3in). The axle is of wood and measures 46cm in diameter. Both bearings are intact. The outer one sits on a concrete mounting block. The hubs are of cast-iron and are 91cm diameter: they are octagonal to the inside for keying onto the axle. There are two sets of eight oak arms (125mm x 100mm in cross section). The rims are of cast-iron, each comprising eight sections bolted together; they are 33cm in depth. A crack has been repaired with two strips of wrought-iron. They accommodate 40 angled wooden buckets, none of which survives. Metal tie bars between the rims kept the buckets in place. Timber soleing (25mm thick) was slotted into the inner circumference of the rims, but this has all rotted away. Part of the sluice gate which controlled the flow of water to the wheel is still in situ but the wooden trough which carried the water the short distance from the headrace to the wheel is missing.

2. Kiln

The kiln is situated on the roadside a short distance west of the mill. It is of T plan, with the tail of the T pointing south to the river. The east-west aligned section across the top is the original block and has two storeys/ two bays. It measures 9.47m by 4.90m in plan and stands to a maximum height of 4.20m to the eaves (31ft 1in x 16ft 1in x 13ft 9in). The north-south return has been added, as is evident from the wall breaks where the two blocks meet. It is also two storeys high but has only a single bay. It measures 4.95m x 4.28m in plan and also stands 4.20m high (16ft 3in x 14ft 1in x 13ft 9in).

The roof has gone completely. The gables of the earlier section show it to have been of half-hipped profile, and debris shows it was covered with natural slates. The profile of the return is indeterminate as its gable apex at south has collapsed. The walls of the earlier block are of large squared sandstone blocks brought to courses. Those of the addition are of smaller rubble stones laid randomly. Both sections have two courses of advanced brick eaves.

Dealing with earlier block first, its west gable faces to the road. There is a doorway at ground floor centre; brick is used in its right-hand jamb. Remains of the door frame survive. Its north elevation is, like the mill, cut into the slope so only the first floor is exposed. There is a doorway into the right bay (frame etc gone), and small window opening to the left bay (also frameless). The east gable is blank. The south elevation is abutted to centre by the return. Its exposed section at left is blank. At right is a small doorway with a segmental brick head. Directly over it is a window opening to the first floor.

The east and west walls of the return are devoid of openings. Its south gable has a window opening to ground and to first floor. The former has metal bars over, and brick to its reveals. This gable is now unstable; the sandstone head to the ground floor opening has slumped outwards, whilst that above has collapsed. Both blocks are considerably overgrown with ivy.

3. Waterworks

North of the mill complex is a substantial mill pond supplied by a headrace off the river and culverted under the road The pond is now dry and overgrown with shrubs, but is intact. An open channel conveyed the water from the pond to the wheel. The walls of this channel, which has evidence of having been repaired in concrete, are beginning to fall inwards. At the south-east corner of the pond is a wide channel which conveyed water to Tully sawmill.

Once the water passed through the wheel, it did not discharge back into the river, but turned to meet the other channel from the pond and so to the sawmill.

Historical information

A corn mill and kiln are shown here on the 1834 OS 6” map. The complex is described in the 1836 First valuation as comprising a corn mill, kilns and miller’s house, all belonging to the Earl of Enniskillen. At that time it was part of the Florence Court estate. The measurements of the mill and kilns are given as: mill – 36ft x 23ft x 15ft; kiln – 31ft x 16ft x 13ft; kiln – 16ft x 13ft x 19ft. Apart from the slightly greater height of the second kiln block, all these dimensions accord with the present buildings. The mill is noted in the Valuation has having a single pair of stones and worked (for valuation purposes) for six months of the year at 12 hours per day. The toll derived from milling generated about £25 per annum. The operator was George Walmsley. The 1835 Ordnance Survey Memoir notes the wheel as being breast-shot and measuring 14ft in diameter.

The Second Valuation book, c.1860, notes the mill as having two pairs of stones (but only one of which worked at a time). George Walmsley was still the operator. The miller’s house is noted as being within the adjoining demesne. It is also now described as a ‘poor’ mill.

The Valuation revision books note the Armstrong family taking over the lease in 1883, and the Nixon family in 1904. It is described in the 1935 Valuation as being operated by Emily Nixon. It contained two stones powered by a 14ft diameter wheel. However, it did little work as there was little corn grown in this area. The annual rental on the mill, kilns and house was £19.4s.0d.

The present waterwheel was apparently brought from a corn mill at Killymackan townland about 1920. It ceased work about 1950.

Primary sources
1. OS 6” map, 1834, Co Fermanagh sheet 32 (PRONI – OS 6/4/32/1).
2. First Valuation book, 1836 (PRONI – VAL 1B/43, p.163).
3. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co Fermanagh, Killesher Parish.
4. Second Valuation book, c.1860 (PRONI – VAL 2B/4/3B, p.153).
5. Valuation revision books (PRONI- VAL 12B/26/19A-F).
6. Valuation revision book, 1933-1957 (PRONI VAL 3D/5/2P/3).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This is an example of a later 18th or earlier 19th century corn mill and kiln built by the Earl of Enniskillen. Although of fairly standard design, the stonework to the eaves of the mill is of note. The fact that there were two drying floors in the kiln (rather than the usual one) is also of interest; the second kiln may have been added prior to 1834. Although the mill machinery is completely ruinous, sufficient survives to make detailed recording worthwhile. The gearing was interesting as an example of a cog-and-rung gear - not just to one set of stones but to two (the second being a mid-19th century insertion). The wheel is also of interest – although not original to this site, its insertion reflects the fact that milling was still a viable enterpirse in this area after the First World War.