Remains of former Burren Mill

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Much altered remains of a pre 1834 corn and flax mill, now used as farm outbuildings. The complex is set to the NW of Market Road, 1 mile SW of Castlewellan.

The remains of the mill consist of an L shaped, mainly two storey group, containing two separate gabled buildings with a large iron waterwheel (with timber spokes), set in the narrow gap between them. Both buildings are one room deep with recent looking rough cast render to much of their facades, corrugated iron roofs and PVC rw goods. The building to the SW is L shaped, having a set back portion to the SW. Part of this portion is single storey and has natural slate to its roof. To the NW/NE facades of the whole grouping are several doorway openings with a mixture of timber sheeted and corrugated iron doors. Some if not all of these openings appear to be recent insertions, but, as the buildings are now rendered, it is difficult to confirm this.

To the SE of the buildings the ground level is higher, so that the grouping appears entirely single storey when viewed from this direction. The ‘inner’ gables of the two storey buildings are unrendered, revealing a rubble construction. In between these gables sits the large (c.4.3m diameter) iron water wheel which undoubtedly drove engines in both buildings. The wheel was a breast shot and as such the (presumably culverted) mill race must have ran across the higher ground (now the farm yard) from the mill dam on the SW side of Market Road.

Just to the E of the former mill grouping is a modern house, which appears to have replaced the earlier miller’s dwelling. To the immediate S of there used to be a brick chimney stack, built when steam power was installed, but this has been totally demolished. To the S of this there is evidence of other buildings having been demolished also.

Historical information

Buildings are shown on this general site on the OS maps of 1834 and 1859. The former map shows what appears to be the present L shaped grouping with the mill race running between and the mill dam on the east side of the road (now Market Road). The contemporary valuation records confirm that this was a water powered corn and flax milling complex which also contained two, two storey dwellings, a large three storey corn kiln, and two and three storey outuildings or ‘offices’. The corn ands flax mills themselves appear to have been taller than the buildings presently each side of the water wheel, suggesting both were either subsequently lowered, rebuilt, or that the ground level to the south west has been raised. The valuers noted that the buildings were of significant age at that date perhaps around fifty years old or more (grade ‘C+/B-‘), and that the mills were worked by a Bartholomew McAnulty. Oddly the 1834 OS map does not have these buildings marked as mills, nor are they referred to in the contemporary OS Memoirs.

On the1859 OS map the buildings to the E of the mills (probably the dwelling(s)) appear to have been rebuilt and the mills themselves are marked ‘Burren Corn Mill’. The 1863 valuation notes a single house on the site, a single ‘office’ or outbuilding, the mills themselves and a corn kiln- all still in the hands of Bartholomew McAnulty (or a son of the same name), and possessing a rateable value of £18. A steam engine was installed some time in the later 19th century, with its brick chimney stack positioned to the south end of the complex. By 1870 the mills appear to changed possession, for they are listed in ‘Slater’s Directory’ of that year under a William Conalty.

Milling on the site appears to have ceased some time in the first half of the 20th century, and by c.1960 at least, the buildings had been stripped on all machinery and had been converted to farm outbuildings. A modern house is now located to the E of these and some additional structures relating to the former mill (including the chimney) have been demolished.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/3/1/43 OS map 1st ed. 1834, Co Down sheet 43
2 PRONI VAL/1A/3/43 Valuation map, Kilcoo (c.1836)
3 PRONI VAL/1B/362 First valuation records, Kilcoo (1836)
4 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846)
5 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ])
6 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856)
7 PRONI OS/6/3/43/3 OS map 1st rev. 1859, Co Down sheet 43
8 PRONI Second (Griffith’s) valuation records, Kilcoo (1863) [in print]
9 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870)
10 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), p.139

Secondary sources
1 E.R.R. Green, ‘The industrial archaeology of Co. Down’ (Belfast HMSO 1963), pp.49.
2 EHS Records of the first survey of buildings of historical and architectural interest in Tollymore ward (1972-)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Much altered remains of a pre 1834 corn and flax mill, now used as farm outbuildings. The iron water wheel which drove the mills is still in position, between the gables of both mill buildings, but the buildings themselves reveal little of the past use, with both now covered in a recent rough cast render and sporting corrugated iron roofs and modern looking door openings.