Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB14/06/055 A

Address :
Liddell's Mill 43 Main Street Donaghcloney

Townland:
Donaghacloney

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
22/06/2010 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Mill

Former Use
Mill

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
202/1SW

IG Ref:
J1304 5335

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Description of buildings May 2010 Same as below with the exception of the weaving sheds which are now demolished. These buildings and the mill pond were removed from the site as part of an agreed demolition contract, prior to re-development of the site. Description of buildings Feb 2010 Large linen mill complex consisting mainly of an extensive mass of single-storey late 19th / early 20th century 'north-light' weaving sheds along with several other largely two-storey structures of various dates, the earliest is believed to have been constructed as a bleach mill in 1813. The complex is set on the southern side of the village of Donaghcloney, on a former bleach green which is bounded by the River Lagan on three sides, (in virtual ‘ox-bow’ like fashion), and accessed via a long drive to the north off Main Street. To the immediate west of the factory is a cricket pitch with a pavilion built by the mill owners in 1900-01 (See HB14.06.055B). The large weaving shed grouping takes up much of the site. Joined to the western side of this is a part-two, part three-storey ‘office’ block (with single-storey ‘lean-to’ additions), whilst to the north are the freestanding structures. The latter consists of the now two-storey over ‘basement’ original bleach mill, which is set roughly on a north-south axis, a smaller single-storey over basement building set at right angle close to the north of this (Former school), and a smaller single-storey building (locally referred to as the ‘Boat House’) set to the west of this, close to the river bank. To the immediate east of the bleach mill is the large mill pond. The cricket pitch lies immediately west of the main factory, with the pavilion to the north-western side of the pitch, relatively near to the bank of the river. ‘Office’ block This building was constructed in at least two distinct sections, the two storey southern half dating largely from the mid to late 1860s (with some later alterations), and the three-storey northern front half from 1898. The building is roughly T-shaped in plan. The northern half is basically a three-storey gabled rectangular block, with a similar (but lower) block making up the bulk of the southern half. The latter merges with a two-storey return which links eastwards to the main factory at a right-angle, whilst to its western side there is a mainly single storey lean-to ‘clasping’ extension which wraps around to its southern facade. The ‘linking’ section to the east is compromised of two conjoined structures, a two-storey section to the west side, and a part two and part one and a half-storey section to the east. The western section rises to a gable while the two-storey portion of the eastern side rises to a hipped roof topped with a decorative timber glazed roof-light structure. The one and a half-storey section is gabled and the roof also has a (somewhat plainer) timber glazed roof-light structure; to the north face of this section is a single-storey lean-to. In general the whole building is relatively plain, with the walls a mixture of red clay facing brick and cement render (to the ground floor of the front –north- gable and the lean-to), whilst the windows, which are mainly flat-headed, but with some segmental and semicircular-headed examples also in evidence, are now blocked. The symmetrical front (north-facing) gable, has some architectural style and detailing which differentiates it from many of the otherbuildings. To the centre of the ground floor of this is a Renaissance Style entrance flanked by fluted pilasters with paired colonnettes that support an entablature and a tympanum, the latter containing scrolled decoration as well as a date stone- ‘1898’. To either side of the entrance is a window with similar (but not identical) surround. At first floor there is a flat-headed window with blocked (Gibbs-style) surround either side of a decorative roundel. A semi-circular-headed opening at second floor level is flanked at either side with a flat-headed opening, whilst another roundel is set within the gable. The gable itself is framed with quoins and rises to a raised parapet with skews. Window openings to the east and west sides of the front block are evenly arranged, but plain. The openings to the west side, at first and second floor levels, are enlarged as fire escape doors and open onto an open steel fire escape stair. The ground floor of the main two-storey southern block is obscured by the ‘clasping’ return. The first floor of the western facade of the first floor has a number of evenly spaced windows, whilst the southern corner of the façade has quoins. The ‘clasping’ return has paired timber sliding doors to a (now blocked) coach arch. Two window openings are plain. The roofs to all of the various portions are gabled and finished with natural slate, apart from the aforementioned raised portion of the ‘linking’ section to the east which is hipped and capped with a decorative rooflight. There is another, larger, but plainer rooflight to the lower portion of this section. The eaves include a mixture that includes corbelled, overhanging with exposed rafter tails and closed without overhangs. The building has suffered much at the hands of vandals; in an attempt to prevent further damage the present owners have bricked up all of the external openings and some internal doors. The three-storey section and the two-storey return were fully accessed, however, it was only possible to enter parts of the first floor of the ‘link’ block; the single-storey extension to the west side is roofless and was not accessible. Many window frames survive behind the block work. These are mainly painted timber mullion and transom style with top hung top openers. Bleach Mill As stated above, this is located at the northern side of the site. It is adjacent to a modern security gate and barrier, to the eastern side of the main driveway and to the immediate west of the millpond. It is believed to have been built in 1813, but appears to have had the uppermost section of its wall rebuilt (and the roof replaced) at some point in the late 19th or early 20th century. It is a long, linear, unadorned rectangular two-storey over-basement gabled structure, with a lower two-storey southern section. The roofs of both sections are slated, the eaves are without overhangs and the surviving portions of the rainwater goods are cast-iron. The walls are finished with roughcast render. The window openings to the main section are evenly arranged while those to the lower section are somewhat irregularly positioned. Openings to the basement and ground floor are segmental-headed while those to the first floor are flat headed. Those to the left of the western front side are either boarded over or bricked up. Generally the ground floor openings are taller, though some have been shortened with block work added to the lower sections. To the western facade between two first-floor openings there is a date stone roundel of c.1900 with a moulded surround; this is inscribed ‘Jn Brown 1813’. At first floor of the southern face paired timber doors open onto a projecting loading platform. A plain flat-headed fanlight sits over. At ground floor there is a central door opening that is flanked with a flat-headed window opening either side. The eastern side is similar to the west but here most of the windows are not blocked. They have painted timber multi-light frames, some with steel hopper openers. The northern face is symmetrical with a blocked window opening to the ground and a loft door opening to first. The loft door is timber sheeted. ‘Boat House’ This small single-storey building at the north-western corner of the works, west of main drive on a muddy bank of the river. At either side is a tail-race that disgorged water back to the river. Built some time between 1835 and 1858, the building is referred to locally as the ‘Boat House’, however, it is not a boat house in the sense that a boat was berthed within. It appears that part of the function of the building was the maintenance of a pontoon that was used to clear weeds and debris from tail-races and the mill pond. It may also be that the pontoon was portaged into the building for safe-keeping. Its primary function is therefore would be more accurately described as store or workshop. The walls are finished with unpainted roughcast render, and the roof is gabled and finished with natural slate. The eaves are without overhangs and support uPVC rainwater goods. To the right side of the eastern facade is a timber sheeted sliding coach door mounted on an external rail. The north facade has three segmental-headed openings- a door opening to the centre and a window opening either side. The door opening has been bricked up and a small high-level fixed light inserted. Modern timber window frames have been installed; one has a single fixed light, the other a two-light frame with a top opener. The other facades are now blank, a single opening each to the west and south facades having been bricked up. Chimney Freestanding and set to the west side of the office / administration building this is a striking example of a traditional late 19th / early 20th century industrial chimney. Standing approximately 28M high the octagonal structure tapers gently to a plain cap. At intervals of approximately 1M the structure is strengthened by a series of metal bands. The top 10M displays a discernable list towards the east. No evidence of a boiler house remains. Mill Pond and Tail Races At the eastern side of the site, adjacent to Donacloney Bridge, a short canal draws water from the River Lagan. This flows into the eastern side of the mill-pond. Sluice gates, one to the southern end of the old bleach mill building, another in the eastern façade of the old mill, channelled water. Tail races to the north and south sides of the ‘Boat-House’ direct water back to the river. Mill building 2 This building, which was constructed at some point between 1835 and 1858, lies at right angles on sloping ground immediately north-east of the old bleach mill. Its original function is not certain, but its chimneystack suggests it may have housed a works office; it is now used as an office (for ‘Donaghcloney Rural Needs Development Group’) and a play school. It is an unassuming rectangular two-storey building, with a full width lean-to to the western gable that incorporates separate entrance lobbies to ground and first floors. The walls are constructed in rubble field-stone and finished with roughcast render. The main roof is slated, with both it and that belonging to the lean-to covered with natural slate. Eaves and verges are without overhangs; rainwater goods are extruded aluminium. Centred on the western gable is a rendered chimneystack with a plain, corbelled cap. The window openings are regular and flat-headed with squat openings to the lower level and tall and narrow one above. The window frames are generally uPVC, with some timber frames to the ground floor. Some of the ground floor openings have been blocked. A door opening to the left side of the first floor level of the northern facade is accessed via a sloping bridge from the higher ground to this side (where there is now a playground). The window and door openings are flat-headed. Weaving factory Lying at the heart of the complex, the weaving factory is a large sprawling mass of conjoined, mainly north-light roofed sheds. The earliest section, to the north dates from 1866-67, with various extensions added mainly in the opening quarter of the 20th century and c.1980s resulting in the amorphous structure we see today. The mill is single-storey and shows three distinct construction techniques. The external envelope varies from a plain industrial cladding on the most recent (mainly southern) sections to plain utilitarian brick on the early 1900s portions. The oldest sections include rusticated render areas adjacent to the office block and facing brick with some simple Venetian-style window openings. In the oldest sections a series of north-lights rest on simple timber trusses that are supported on cast-iron columns. Areas dating from the early 20th century show steel post and beam arrangements that also support north-lights. The later 20th century additions are constructed with Portal Frames that are finished with industrial metal cladding.

Architects

Hobart & Heron

Historical Information

The vicinity of Donaghcloney appears to have served as crossing point along the River Lagan, since a bridge (‘Banoge Bridge’) was constructed there in the early 18th century. With the obvious advantages of this particular site on the north-western side of the river, it is probable that linen was being produced here as early as 1742, when the property was in the hands of a linen draper by the name of Marmaduke Dempster. The Dempsters had held a large plot of land in the vicinity (from the Gill Hall estate) since 1708, and ‘Donaghcloney- Dempster Esq.’ is marked on Taylor’s and Skinner’s road map of 1777. The area remained in the family until 1806, when David Dempster sold the lease to a John Currell ‘of Moylurg’, but Currell relinquished this in 1808, and in 1812 Dempster sold it on to John Brown (1770-1834). No buildings are indicated on the site on James Williamson’s County Down map of 1810. Shortly after acquiring the land, however, John Brown is believed to have built a new bleach mill, the long narrow building to the north end of the present complex. This building carries a non-contemporary date stone (possibly c.1900) which reads ‘Jn. Brown A.D. 1813’, and is shown on the OS map of 1834 along with several other smaller structures to the west and north, and the large bleach green to the south, stretching to the river bank. The OS Memoirs of October of the same year describe the site as containing ‘a bleach green and mill the property of Mr John Brown, capable of finishing 10,000 pieces of linen per annum…[and giving] constant employment to about 16 men.’ In the valuation of the following year the long bleach mill – here referred to as containing ‘beetling mills, wash house and drying loft’- is noted as measuring 137½ft x 27 x 23, with a further beetling mill of 33 x 26½ x 9, a boiling house of 17½ x 16 x 11, a dwelling house amounting to 36½ x 19 x 10 and an accompanying ‘office’ of 21 x 19 x 9. The mill was water-driven, having 3 wheels each 15ft in diameter, all ‘in full work’ at the time of the survey. After John Brown’s death in 1837, the mill passed to his brother, James, and 14yr old son, John Shaw Brown. Part of the property, namely the house and the bleach green, were sold to Robert G. Nicholson, the owner of a bleachworks at near by Banoge townland. James Brown carried on the business and by 1840 he was reported to be employing 250 damask weavers. Upon his death in 1851 all of the land was sold to Nicholson. In 1855 William Liddell, a cousin of the Nicholsons, was given the option of acquiring the lease of both the Donaghcloney and Banoge mills. In order to finance this went into partnership with John Shaw Brown and a Mr. Magee of Lurgan. Mr. Magee was apparently bought out in 1861, and Brown withdrew from the partnership in 1866 to found his own mill at Edenderry, near Belfast, thus leaving the entire Donaghcloney concern in the hands of the reconstituted ‘William Liddell & Co.’. During the three decades following 1835, the mill complex itself appears to have expanded on a relatively modest scale, the OS map of 1858 showing additions to the north and south ends of the large bleach mill as well as a much smaller building set at right-angle close the north end, several other small buildings immediately west, close to the river, and a narrow L-shaped structure to the south-west. Unfortunately, the second valuation of c.1861 does not provide any detail regarding the complex, other than stating that the valuation of the site was £40- unchanged from 1835. This was soon to alter somewhat dramatically as Donaghcloney, in common many other Irish linen mills, was to benefit greatly from boom in the linen industry brought about by the restrictions on cotton supplies caused by the American Civil War. Thus by 1864 the rateable value of the works had doubled to £80, and by 1867 had leapt again to £290. The latter increase was largely facilitated by the construction of a new weaving ‘factory…built to hold 280 looms’, a 30hp steam engine and a gasworks. This ‘factory’, built for the production of damask linen using power looms, appears to have been instigated by W & G Moorehead, brothers-in-law of the late Robert G. Nicholson, but shortly afterwards acquired by the newly-formed William Liddell & Co. It consisted of the square northern section of the present large single-storey north-light roofed mass of buildings to the south of the old mill of 1813, as well as the two-storey southern section of the office block and the portion linking this to the main factory. The rise of the rateable valuation to £294-10-0 may suggest an extension of the weaving factory, or possibly the construction of some of the relatively small freestanding buildings which stood to the west of the original bleach mill, (and which are shown on the 1903 OS map), but this is not certain. In 1889, however, a ‘new workshop’ consisting of two single-storey blocks of 27yds x 13 and 24 x 13 – both probably attached to the main factory- were added, raising the valuation to £300. A simple sketch of the premises printed on the cover of the firm’s catalogue of 1896 depicts what seems to be a view from the north. It shows the complex enclosed by a wall with a grand carriage entrance, which presumably stood at the south end of the drive off Main Street. The original bleach mill is shown as three-storey and is set next to an equally tall (but seemingly two-storey) structure with a bellcote- probably the (‘Rural Needs Development’) building we still see in the same position today, albeit slightly altered. According to Charles Brett (who had access to an unpublished MS history of the business) the original mill was indeed fully three-storey; whether this history drew this information solely from the 1896 drawing is not known, but it is clear that at some point the uppermost portions of the walls of the building were rebuilt in brick and the roof replaced. It should also be noted that the valuers record it as being 23ft high in 1835, and 19ft in 1908. Internal evidence shows that all of the floors have been replaced and the uppermost floor structure has been removed to create a double-height first floor level, however this removal seems to have taken place at more recent date, after the upper portions of the walls were rebuilt. In 1898 the northern half of the office block, (originally also containing ‘drying rooms’ and measuring 43ft x 34½ x 33) was constructed at a cost of £650, raising the rateable value of the whole concern to £322. This rose to £338 in 1904 following some minor single-storey additions to the north and east sides of the main factory, and the building of the cricket pavilion in 1900-01 (see below). There were further extensions to the east and south sides of the factory -a ‘card store and cloth store’, in 1908, as well as the installation of a new engine (replacing the gasworks), all of which increased the valuation to £360, with larger extensions added to the south side in 1910 (£450). Another addition, spanning the whole of the south side of the factory, and others to its north-western and south-western corners were constructed in 1915, (possibly to designs by Hobart & Heron), lifting the valuation to £500. In 1925 the valuers note more ‘alterations in progress’, they do detail the nature or extent of these, but it appears likely that they entailed the further expansion -in single-storey form- of the main factory; whatever the case the rateable value of the whole collection of buildings increased to £560 as a result. Apart from the building of some not insubstantial ‘warehouses’ to the southern end of the factory c.1970s-80s, most of the complex as we know it today was in place by the end of the 1920s. By the early 1900s, William Liddell & Co. had become one of the leading damask manufacturers within Ulster [?the largest in the world at one point], with the firm notably supplying linen for the ill-fated Titanic. Like so many other such mills a small village of workers’ housing was constructed by the Liddells from the late 1800s, giving rise the village of Donaghcloney itself. The family also built a church (1894), a schoolhouse (1912- consecrated for use as a church c.1980), and, in common with several local mill owners, provided a cricket pitch, and, in this case, cycle track also. The aforementioned pavilion, an attractive red brick Domestic Revival building possibly also by Hobart & Heron, was added to the cricket pitch in 1900-01 at a cost of £131. In 1973 the company merged with the Belfast firm of William Ewart & Sons to become ‘Ewart Liddell’, who in 2001 were acquired by the Baird McNutt Group. The Donaghcloney site remained in operation until c.2002. Since then the complex has remained largely idle. In recent years some buildings to the west of the old bleach mill have been demolished, whilst others have been bricked up. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI D1820/3/1 Copy Lease- John Magill, Esq. Gill Hall, Co. Down to David Dempster, Donaghcloney, Co. Down, concerning lands in the townland in Donaghcloney containing 54a. 2r. (Plantation measure), 1 December 1708 2 Harris, Walter and Charles Smith, ‘The Ancient and Present State of the County of Down’ (Dublin, 1744) (see accompanying map of 1743) 3 NIEA Map of County Down Kennedy’s map, 1755 4 Taylor’s and Skinner’s Maps of the Roads of Ireland’ (Dublin, 1777), map 15 5 PRONI D3044/A/4/10/1 Clanwilliam Papers Renewal of lease, Clanwilliam to David Dempster, Donaghcloney, Parish of Donaghcloney: [original lease, Sir John Magill to William Hutton of Donaghcloney, 1699], 1804 6 PRONI D1820/3/3 Johns, Elliot, Wallace & Co. papers Assignment- David Dempster, Donaghcloney, Co. Down to John Currell, Moylorg, Co. Antrim, of a bleachgreen at Donaghcloney, Co. Down, 10 June 1806 7 PRONI D1820/3/4 Johns, Elliot, Wallace & Co. papers Original and Copy Lease for 21 years Yearly rent of £53 18 10½. Parties: John Currell, Moylorg, Co. Antrim to David Dempster, Donaghcloney, Co. Down. Lands: Farm and Bleach green of Donaghcloney, Co. Down, containing 23 a. 37 ps. plantation measure, 1 November 1808 8 PRONI D616 James Williamson’s map of County Down, 1810 9 PRONI D1820/3/5 Johns, Elliot, Wallace & Co. papers Lease for term of 21 years Yearly rent of £100. Parties: David Dempster, linen draper, Donaghcloney, Co. Down to John Browne, linen draper, Waringstown, Co. Down. Lands: Farm of land in Donaghcloney, Co. Down containing 23 a. 37 p, 29 May 1812 10 PRONI VAL1A/3/20 OS map, Co. Down sheet 20 with valuation
references, 1834[-c.1838] 11 ‘Ordnance Survey Memoirs of County Down’ vol.12, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams, (QUB, 1992), pp.57-58, 61 [1834] 12 PRONI VAL1B/340 First valuation, Donaghcloney parish, 1835 13 PRONI VAL2A/3/20A OS map, Co. Down sheet 20, with valuation references, 1858[-c.1864] 14 PRONI VAL2B/3/46C Second valuation, Donaghcloney parish, c.1861 15 PRONI VAL12B/21/44A Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1866-75 16 PRONI VAL12B/21/44B Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1876-85 17 PRONI VAL12B/21/44C Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1885-1900 18 PRONI D1882/2/4 Printed catalogue of William Liddell & Co., 1896 [D1882 is a collection of documents relating to William Liddell & Co., however they are mainly financial, wages etc.] 19 PRONI VAL12A/2/26 Valuers’ office notebook, Lurgan Union, 1899 20 PRONI VAL12B/21/44D Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1900-08 21 PRONI VAL12A/3/69 Valuers’ office notebook, Moira RD, 1901 22 PRONI OS6/3/20/3 OS map, Co. Down sheet 20, 1903 23 PRONI VAL12A/3/70 Valuers’ office notebook, Moira RD, 1904 24 PRONI VAL12A/3/71 Valuers’ office notebook, Moira RD, 1908, 1910 25 PRONI VAL12B/21/44E Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1909-29 26 PRONI VAL12A/3/72 Valuers’ office notebook, Moira RD, 1915 27 PRONI OS6/3/20/4 OS map, Co. Down sheet 20, 1916 28 PRONI VAL12F/4/12/2 Annual valuation revision book, Donaghcloney ED, 1930-35 29 PRONI VAL3B/4/3 First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Donaghcloney ED, 1935 30 PRONI VAL3C/4/26 First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Donaghcloney ED, 1936-57 31 PRONI VAL4B/3/55 Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland, Donaghcloney ED, 1957-72 32 NIEA McCutcheon Collection DN/1454-1515 Photgraphs of Liddell’s mill and weaving factory, c.1960s Secondary sources 1 Green, E.R.R., ‘The Industrial Archaeology of County Down’, (Belfast, 1963), p.24 2 McCutcheon, W.A., ‘The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland’, (Belfast, 1980), pp.308-309, plates 95, 98 3 Brett, C.E.B., ‘The Buildings of North County Down’, (Belfast, 2002), p.240 4 Rankin, Kathleen, ‘The Linen Houses of the Lagan Valley…’, (Belfast, 2002), pp.8-12 5 NIEA Industrial Heritage Record, 02985:000:00, 02985:001:00, 02985:002:00, 02985:003:00, 02987:000:00 02987:001:00, 02987:002:00 Websites and online facilities 1 NIEA Web-mapping- Map of the Donaghcloney area and aerial photography, 2003 2 Irish Architectural Archive www.iarc.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

This large linen mill complex was once reputed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world and linen was produced on this site from c1740. The buildings that remain comprise early to late ninetenth century mill and office buildings and a tall and commanding red brick chimney. The bleach mill, constructed in 1813, and adjacent mill building are simple in design and construction but are the oldest parts of the site and contrast with the more architecturally assertive office block to the South. Together they form an industrial group that has considerable historic interest, both in the history of linen producton in N Ireland and also for the village of Donaghcloney that has largely grown up and developed as a result of these buildings. The complex has group value with the adjacent Edwardian cricket pavilion (HB14.06.055B), and the nearby Liddell Memorial Primary school (HB14.06.012)

General Comments

Date of Survey

11 February 2010