Former Maxwell Court Corn Mill,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two storey, rubble-built former corn mill (now converted to a dwelling), with single and two storey side wings. The building is picturesquely set right onto the E side of the 'Clattering Ford' road, roughly half a mile SW of Comber.

The building is in three distinct sections. The main section is two storey. Its front (W) gable is a slightly right of centre semicircular headed timber sheeted doorway with sandstone Gibbs-like 'Ards' surround. Near the gable apex is a small-ish semicircular headed window with brick dressings to the window head. The window frame is modern (as are all the other frames). Above the doorway a small mill stone has been mortared into the facade. This mill stone may once have been inscribed. To the right of the doorway is a square moulded concrete 'notice board'.

To the immediate left (N) of this gable is the W face of a small single storey store section with a low timber-sheeted door. This small store section (whose ?hipped roof is largely hidden behind a high parapet), backs on to a larger two storey hipped roof wing which has a small timber constructed ventilator 'tower' to its ridge. The exposed W facade of this section has a tall window to the left and a small uuper level window. To the N facade of this section there is a small first floor window, with a former low level doorway now blocked with red brick, to the ground floor. To the rear of this section there is a large set of French doors, with a small window to the left of these and another (smaller) window to the first floor

The exposed (left hand) section of the N facade of the main two storey section has a very large picture window, above the is a much smaller window. The rear (E) gable of the main section has a very tall oriel window at first floor level.

The S facade of the main section has a single storey wing with a gabled roof. To the left of this section (on the main S facade) is a small window to the ground floor and one to the first floor. To the right (again on the main S facade) is a surprising low timber-sheeted garage doorway (leading into a surprisingly low ceilinged garage) with glazing above. Above left of this is a small window.

The single storey wing has a very tall, narrow, window to its (S) gable. To the W face is a small window, whilst to the E there is a glazed door with window-like sidelights with a timber-sheeted doorway to the right of this.

The entire facade is in random basalt rubble with rough-hewn sandstone quoins to the main section. The roof to the main section has rough-hewn natural slates and [?stone] parapets. There is a modern boiler chimney to the S side of this roof. The roof of the N wing has a similar slate to the main roof but the roof of that to the S has a much finer natural slate.

In front of the main W gable is a short ramp. To the left side of the main S facade is a section of low rubble walling-square in plan. The ground to the rear of the mill slopes away and the former mill race (which flows underground from the the former mill pond on the opposite side of the the road to the W) emerges near the main rear gable where there is a random rubble culvert face with small semicircular arch.

The road to the immediate W of this former mill used to be part of the main road from Comber to Ballygowan but the road was redirected further to the NW in fairly recent times [?c.1980]. This has resulted in this particular section of road becoming stranded as it were, with the former mill pond (which is now a bird sanctuary) now situated in the space between the original and the new section of road.

Historical information

This former corn mill was originally associated with Maxwell Court, a farm house a short distance to the NW. This house was probably built in the latter half of the 18th century by the Wilson family. The mill is noted in the first valuation of 1833 (when it and Maxwell Court were in possession of James Kearns). The dimensions of the mill quoted by the valuers appear to match the buildings we see today, and the plan appears much as present on the 1834 OS map, though there was a two storey miller's house as well. This house may (again, to judge from the OS map) may have been just to the north of the mill itself and in 1834 was a two storey dwelling.

The valuers graded the mills constituent parts a mixture of 'C' and 'B', indicating that though they regarded the whole complex as quite old (probably 18th century) they felt (or were informed) that complex was not built at the time, with some sections older than others. Somewhat surprisingly they record the main two storey section of the mill as 'B' and the wings as 'C' (i.e.older).

The mill resided with the owners of Maxwell Court throughout the 19th century, with the whole complex acquired by John Andrews (one of the family who owned the Comber's large flax spinning mill) c.1883. Shortly after this the miller's house was rebuilt. The mill appears to have closed in 1940s and was derelict when purchased by the present owner in 1983. Shortly after this he converted the building to a dwelling house.

References- Primary sources
1 Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast News-Letter’ 8 May 1795. [Notice of the marriage of David Wilson Esq. To Miss Andrews of Comber. Miss Mary Andrews was actually a distant relative of the members of the Andrews family who later came to reside at Maxwell Court.]
2 Linen Hall Library ‘Pigot & Co.’s Dublin and Hibernian Provincial Directory’ (Manchester 1824).
3 PRONI OS/1/3/10 OS map, 1st ed. 1834, Down 10.
4 PRONI VAL 1B/316A p.52 1st valuation, Comber.
5 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II’, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB1991), pp.31, 35.
6 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1846), p.442.
7 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1856), p.505.
8 PRONI OS/6/3/10/3 OS map, 1st rev. 1858, Down 10.
9 PRONI 2nd valuation, Comber.
10 Linen Hall Library ‘Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Ireland’ (Manchester 1870).
11 PRONI D.4189/E/2/1-15 Andrews Papers Maxwell Court cash books- Feb.1883-1919.
12 PRONI D.4189/E/3/1-9 Andrews Papers Maxwell Court ledgers- Feb.1883-1922.
13 PRONI D.4189/E/4/1 Andrews Papers Maxwell Court weekly farm journal- 1884-1900.
14 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.303-305.
14 PRONI OS/2/3/10 OS map, 2nd ed. 1901, Down 10.

Secondary sources
1 Sydney Andrews (ed. John Burls), ‘Nine Generations- A History of the Andrews Family, Millers of Comber’ (Isaac Andrews & Sons, 1958).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Rubble-built corn mill complex of pre 1833 origin converted to a dwelling house in c.1984. Externally much of the building is still intact, though all trace of machinery has been removed. The former miller's house to the north was rebuilt c.1885 and appears to have replaced a pre 1833 dwelling.