Newtownabbey Borough Council offices

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large L-shaped four storey local government office complex (the headquarters of Newtownabbey Borough Council) comprising a mixture of the old and new with two large -typically stark and angular- flat-roofed mid to later 19th century basalt rubble and brick former flax mill blocks linked by a prominent, contrastingly more graceful and airy late 1990s glazed and curved entrance section.

The complex is set to the E of Carnmoney Road with the large mill pond and tall chimney to the higher ground to the immediate W of the building and landscaped drive and grounds to the N-NW. To the immediate E a large assortment of buildings originally belonging to the mill (and accounting for approximately half of the late 19th century complex) have been demolished save for a long three storey hipped roof basalt building and adjoining two storey rendered and gabled structure to the S end.

The building is basically L-shaped in plan form the two four storey former mill blocks set at right angles and joined to the NW corner by the large glazed late 1990s entrance section. The former mill block to the N is longer and was built some time prior to 1861 (possibly c.1850), but with the top storey added around 1879. From the later 1800s until recently it was abutted at both the E and W ends by other structures but these have been cleared away. This block is has not been renovated and is currently unused.

The block is in semi-coursed basalt rubble with granite in-out quoins and in-out brick dressings to the windows. The windows themselves are in typical uniform rows to each floor of the long N and S elevations with those to the first three floors flat headed and those to the uppermost floor (which was added later), segmental headed. The window frames to the ground first and second floors are timber with small panes, with metal framed hopper openings to those to the ground floor. Those to the third floor appear to have wholly metal frames with margin panes. A few windows to the N and S elevations are now blocked. Between the second and third floors on the N elevation the [?]stone parapet / eaves course belonging to the original roof line is still in place; to the S elevation there is a deep cement rendered band between these floors. To the E end the façade projects slightly to both the N and S elevations (within this section was / is the stairwell). There are two narrow full-height brick projections to N elevation ( which housed the toilets).

The short E elevation has a more dilapidated appearance due to the fact that until recently it was completely covered by another structure. It has three evenly-spaced openings to each floor (presumably originally mainly windows- possibly latterly used as doors) which are now all boarded up. The outlines of the former structures abutting this elevation are still visible. The roof of the block is flat and has a [?]stone parapet with cornice course. To the W end of the roof and spanning to the late 1990s section a large mainly brick built flat roofed single storey section has been added.

The block to the W is somewhat smaller and appears to have been built as a whole in 1879. Generally speaking it has the same stark uniform appearance as that to N with (coursed) basalt rubble façade, banks of brick dressed windows and a flat roof, however this block has been completely renovated.

Due to the higher ground level to the W the ground floor of the W elevation of the block is only visible up close. To this level there is a row of window shaped recesses, largely filled with basalt (as the façade), but with three to the left hand side filled in brick (there is a larger light well to this side and these recesses may originally have been proper windows). To the other floors are rows of segmental headed window openings all with new metal frames. The windows to the uppermost floor are slightly shorter than the rest and two of them have been lengthened to form ‘balcony’ doorways. Between the second and third floors there is a deep rendered band (which appears to have been added recently). To the third floor level there is a string course at window arch springing level which appears to be of sandstone.

In general terms the E elevation repeats much of the look of that to W, however it is fully exposed to all floors and with windows to the ground floor. There is a large vehicle doorway to right on the ground floor with a large painted lintel with ‘1879’ thereon. The doorway appears to be no longer in use and is filled with large timber (mainly t & g) sheets. To the far right hand end of the of elevation is a relatively narrow section which is set back; this repeats the detailing to the rest of the block, but with a large pedestrian segmental headed doorway to ground level with in-out granite dressings, recent timber double door and large fanlight. To immediate right of this section is a recent full-height entirely glazed section which spans to the N block.

The narrow N elevation has window to left on each floor (as before) with brick filled window-like recess to right. The S elevation has a metal sheeted flat headed pedestrian doorway to ground floor, with a single flat headed opening to each upper floor filled with what appears to be metal sheeting. The flat roof of the block has a large recent brick-built services section to the N end.

The blocks are linked to the NW corner by the large, prominent recently added entrance section. This is flat-roofed and completely glazed to its curved W side, with the N side in glass with a large full-height central brick section.

As mentioned above roughly half of the late 19th / 20th century mill complex to the E and S has been cleared away, leaving a large open area. To the S boundary of the site however there is a long three storey hipped roof building in basalt rubble with brick-dressed openings. This building appears to date from some time after 1861. To the long N and S elevations of the building there are uniform rows of relatively small flat headed windows mainly filled with mid to later 20th century frames. Several windows have been blocked. To the ground floor of the N elevation there is also a pedestrian doorway to left and a large vehicle doorway to right, both of are relatively recent insertions and somewhat awkward. The E elevation is blank. The W elevation has a window to right on the second floor, with a window-like recess to left. The building is abutted to this side by a long narrow somewhat dilapidated two storey rendered and gabled building of possible pre 1861 construction and recorded in that year as a ‘fine flax store’ (much of the façade of this building was obscured from view). The hipped roof of the three storey building is slated and has a tall brick chimney stack to the E and another to W.

On the high ground to the immediate W of the main building is a tall octagonal tapering brick chimney. There has been a chimney on this site since at least 1852, but the present one may be a later replacement. Just to the N of this is a large paved forecourt and to W is a car park. To N is the main drive with a recent gate screen and railings to the E side of Carnmoney Road North. To the N side of the complex is a channelled stream and just beyond this is a railway line.

Historical information

According to the OS memoirs of 1839, there has been an industrial complex of some kind on this site in Ballyhenry townland since at least the mid 18th century. The earliest known establishment was a bleach works run (in its final years at least) by a Mr Thompson. This closed c.1760 and was replaced by a flax scutching mill and then a cotton factory run by messrs Stenton and Graham. In c.1805 this was acquired by Edmund and Thomas Grimshaw who around 1818 converted it to cotton printing works.

The Grimshaws were the sons of Nicholas Grimshaw, a Lancashire born cotton printer who moved to Belfast in c.1770, establishing a print works at Greencastle in or around 1776 and swiftly becoming a leading figure in the Irish cotton industry. After Nicholas’s death in 1805 his sons continued and expanded the business, acquiring other mills in the Carnmoney area. By the 1830s the decline of cotton manufacture in Ireland and the emergence of a somewhat militant combinations among the printers, lead Edmund Grimshaw to convert the Ballyhenry works (now named Mossley- in deference to the Grimshaws Lancashire connections) to a flax spinning factory in 1834.

In the process Edmund rebuilt or refurbished much of the complex and created the large mill pond, which by 1840 fed a large metal wheel of 60ft diameter. It is difficult to gauge the extent of the complex at this stage, however, for the first accurate map of the area (the first edition OS map) was produced in 1832, a few years before Edmund Grimshaw commenced rebuilding. Little on this map corresponds to the site as it emerged later in the century, however there does appear to have been a structure on the site of the present three storey hipped roof building to the south boundary of the present complex.

In 1859 the Mossley mill was bought by Henry Campbell and his second cousin John Campbell, with Henry supplying the capital for the business and John managing it. By this point the complex had taken on much of the form it would retain for the next 150 odd years, with the large spinning mill to the north side (at this stage three storey), two and single storey office buildings and manager’s house to the north-west, and a scattering of buildings to the south including (according to the 1861 valuation) the ‘old mill’ referred to above and at that point used as a ‘rough flax store’. This may be the building we see today, however the valuers state that it was two storey suggesting that it was either later replaced altogether or raised a storey- the regularity of the present building indicates that it is a replacement. At this point the mill had 7,060 spindles and was powered by ‘2 new [40hp] engines by Hickson of Bolton working together…each beautifully finished and fitted at a cost [of] over £2,000 -it is said- without the boilers’.

The next major change to the complex occurred in 1879 when a large collection of buildings to the west-southwest, including a two storey brick ‘drying house and drying loft’, ‘gas house and pumping shed’, the ‘old engine house’, bundling rooms and coal stores were demolished and the present four storey block erected; the fourth storey may have been added to the north block at this stage also (its detailing matches that of the south block) but this is not certain. Further smaller buildings appear to have been built to the east of the south block around this date also, and with these additions the Campbells were able to add thread-making to the business. Hand in hand with the expansion of the mill went the expansion of the Mossley mill village, with new worker’s houses built of ‘Old Row’ and ‘Sunnyside’ built to the north of the mill and a school established in 1868

Henry Campbell died in 1894* and John in 1901, but the Campbell family continued to run the business, expanding throughout the century and introducing the manufacture of synthetic threads in the 1960s and 70s. Though there were inevitable changes to the buildings throughout this time basic form of the complex remained as established by the early years of the century.

In 1978 the company was sold to the London-based Hanson Trust, amalgamated with Barbour Threads of Hilden and renamed Barbour Campbell Threads Ltd. Thread production was moved to Hilden with spinning remaining at Mossley. In 1993 Mossley was bought by Herdmans flax spinners of Sion Mills and finally closed in 1995.

In 1996 the site was acquired Newtownabbey Borough Council and the large block to the southwest converted (and extended) into the new Council Civic Centre. The largest block to the north side was retained also (but as yet remains untouched), as well as the old store to the south end and the large chimney and the mill pond, however the mass of buildings to the south and east as well as those to the northwest –roughly half (or more) of the complex in terms of area- were cleared away.

[*On Henry’s death his money was left in trust for the founding of a school or hospital, and in 1894 Campbell College opened in Belfast.]

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/1/51/1 OS map, Co Antrim sh 51, 1832
2 PRONI VAL/1B/115a-b First valuation, Carnmoney, 1836
3 OS Memoirs, Carnmoney, 1839, reprinted in ‘OS Memoirs of Ireland…vol I…’ ed Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB, 1990), pp.47-48 etc.
4 PRONI OS/6/1/51/2 OS map, Co Antrim sh 51, 1857
5 PRONI VAL/2B/1/13b Second valuation, Carnmoney, 1861
6 PRONI VAL/12B/5/7a-g Annual valuation revision books, Carnmoney, 1864-1920s
7 PRONI VAL/12/1/7a-g Annual valuation revision books, Ballylinny, 1864-1920s [The mill complex was actually split between two townlands Carntall (in Ballylinny parish) and Ballyhenry (in Carnmoney).]
8 PRONI OS/6/1/51/3 OS map, Co Antrim sh 51, c.1901
9 PRONI VAL/12A/1/15 p.10 Valuers’ office notebook, Antrim RD, 1909-11 [This notebook contains an entry relating to the mill as it stood in 1909 and supplies a hand-drawn plan with dimensions.]
10 PRONI OS/6/1/51/4 OS map, Co Antrim sh 51, 1921

Secondary sources
1 Information supplied by Newtownabbey Borough Council, c.2001

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Large and impressive L-shaped four storey local government office complex, (the headquarters of Newtownabbey Borough Council), comprising a mixture of the old and new with two large –typically stark and angular- flat-roofed mid to later 19th century basalt rubble and brick former flax mill blocks linked by a prominent, contrastingly more graceful and airy late 1990s glazed and curved entrance section. The mill complex can still be read as an entity and with the conversion to council offices it has an added level of importance with significance for a large part of the local population whose family members would have worked in the mill.