Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB16/09/036

Address :
Former Corn Mill to rear of 19 Cabragh Rd Mayobridge Newry Co Down BT34 2HX

Townland:
Bavan

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Mill

Former Use
Mill

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
Yes

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OS Map No:
267/2

IG Ref:
J1539 2799

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A once sizeable complex encompassing a water-powered corn mill and detached drying kiln. Situated up lane to south of Bavan Bridge, on right bank of a small tributary of Clanrye River. 1. Corn mill The two-storey/ single bay mill is aligned north-south. Now dilapidated and used as a byre. Pitched natural slate roof and random rubble walls. There are iron tie bars through the walls at first floor level; an inscription on the securing plates reads "IAWS Ld/ Dairy Engineers Dublin". Main entrance door is in N gable; also a loading door above to first floor, with pulley bracket over. All windows have been infilled with concrete blocks. A one-storey seed house, now very ruinous, abuts the S end of the W elevation. The remainder of this elevation is abutted by a now-roofless one-storey concrete blockwork shed. Waterwheel pit clearly evident to outside of S gable. Measuring 142cm wide (suggesting a 137cm wide wheel), it has been extensively refurbished in concrete (suggesting second world war usage). Several shaft bearing housings remain. Their configuration suggests that a segment wheel was bolted to the waterwheel arms, the power being transmitted into the mill through a small bull nut. 2. Kiln A short distance north of the mill is the kiln complex, aligned east-west, but now very dilapidated. Originally this was a two-storey/ single-bay random rubble building with pitched natural slate roof and a one-storey hipped extension on its W gable. The latter was subsequently raised a floor to incorporate a kiln head (drying floor), its brick-vaulted firehole being constructed in the original section below. The enlarged building has a natural slate roof, pitched at E and hipped to W. The roof structure has now collapsed. Random rubble walls with openings in all walls. There is a ramp up to the first floor of the corn intake area at the E end of the N elevation. Abutting the W gable of the kiln is a one-storey lean-to with monopitched corrugated metal roof. Its rubble walls are tied to those of the kiln with diagonal panels of cast-in-situ concrete. A doorway on its W face enables access to the firehole. Two millstones lie outside the SW corner of the building. Both are one-piece granite shelling stones (a runner and bed stone), and measure 145cm in diameter. 3. Miscellaneous buildings Assorted random rubble buildings, now in an advanced state of decay, are located to the north and south of the mill and kiln; one of these was the former flax mill which now retains no features of interest.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Corn mill depicted on 1834 OS 6” map. 1835 valuation notes the mill as measuring 40 x 21 x 7ft, and the kiln as 18 x 18 x 7.5ft (both were evidently raised at some time afterwards). The flax mill appears on the 1860 map. The second valuation notes the corn mill as containing one pair of stones, fans and sifters. The flax mill had six stocks and a roller. Both mills became disused around 1892, although the corn mill seems to have been put back to work around 1915, during WW1. It was evidently used after this date as well, probably during WW2. Primary sources: 1. OS 6" map, 1st edition (1834) Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/1) 2. OS 6" map, 2nd edition (1860) Co Down sheet 47 (PRONI OS 6/3/47/2) 3. PRONI First valuation, 1835, VAL 12B/353, p.131. 4. PRONI Second valuation, c.1862, VAL 2B/3/57C, p.38. 5. PRONI Valuation revisions, 1866-1930, VAL 12B/22/5.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A substantial complex of buildings, now very dilapidated and without machinery.

General Comments

Date of Survey

16 August 1999