WATCH TOWER

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A cylindrical rubble stone nineteenth century watch house, associated with the former Springvale Bleach works, located in a large field on the west side of Springvale Road, Banbridge. Random rubble stone construction with corbelled conical roof over projecting brick eaves. There is a full-height narrow entrance to NE, with brick jambs. Circular apertures, formed in brick, are located to N and W.

Setting

The watch house is located near the top of a large sloping field bounded by hedgerow and native trees; it is set approximately 50 metres from the road, and can be accessed from a field gate directly to east.

Roof: Rubble stone
Walling: Rubble stone
Windows: None, brick dressed openings
RWG: None

Historical information

The ‘Watch Ho[use]’ is first shown, captioned, on the second edition OS map of 1860, and is likely to date from the acquisition of the Springvale mill by the Uprichard family in the 1830s. Six watch houses are shown on the second edition (1860) on or near the bleach greens at Springvale and Mill Park but the structures are not listed in valuation records. Most of the other watchhouses are gone and it appears that the current building was one of three sited to the south of Spring Vale bleach mills, the only ones of the group to be circular in plan. One of the three remaining towers is derelict, and the other was removed in 1967 and re-erected in the Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra.

The watch houses were built for the accommodation of the bleach green watchmen using the same construction techniques as the round gate pillars commonly seen at Irish farmhouses. (Green)

The job of the watchman was to guard the newly-woven linen webs, which were spread out to bleach on the green once they had undergone treatment in the bleach mill. The linen was vulnerable to straying animals and to theft which was a relatively common occurrence and harshly punished with penalties including, until this was repealed in 1811, the death sentence. (www.nmni.com)

References:
Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/26/1 First Edition OS Map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/26/2 Second Edition OS map (1860)
3. PRONI OS/6/3/26/3 Third Edition OS Map (1903-4)
4. PRONI OS/6/3/26/4 Fourth Edition OS Map (1903-20)

Secondary Sources
1. Green, E.R.R. “The Industrial Archaeology of County Down” Belfast: her majesty’s Stationery Office, 1963
2. www.nmni.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A nineteenth century cylindrical rubble stone watch house, associated with the former Springvale and Mill Park Bleach Works, at Lawrencetown. The watch house, originally one of six associated with the bleach works, is of significance as representing a link to the linen industry, central to the historical development of this area. The stone roof is corbelled, an archaic method of construction of which few nineteenth century examples remain. It has group value with the only other remaining watch house - this one rectangular in plan - on this site (HB17/03/016B).

General comments

It has group value with the only other remaining tower (HB17/03/016B).

Renumbered as HB17/02/016A - JL/29-08-13