Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB24/11/026

Address :
Old Mill Dundonald Old Mill 231 Belfast Road Killarn Dundonald Co. Down BT16 1UE

Townland:
Killarn

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
04/03/1977 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Shop

Former Use
Mill

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
131/14

IG Ref:
J4409 7450

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Owner Category

Commercial

Exterior Description And Setting

Dundonald Old Mill is a rubble built ‘T’ shaped complex comprising of a former mill, kiln and miller’s house all originating as a bleach works in the 1750s, but converted to a corn mill between c.1835-58. The complex now houses a shop and restaurant, but much of the former milling machinery, including the very large wheel (reputedly the largest in Ireland), is still intact. The grouping is sited to the N of the Belfast Road, less than one mile E of Dundonald. The two storey former kiln house lies to the S of the grouping, with its gable facing S to the Belfast Road. On the E facade of this section is a large segmental arch headed opening, now filled with a modern timber sheeted and glazed door, large sidelights and fanlight. To the right of this, set at a higher level, are three square window openings with modern single pane frames. To the right of this (and set a higher ground level) the mill section intersects at a right angle with the large water wheel to the S facade of the mill building. The wheel measures c.10m in diameter and has been fully restored within the last year and is in working order. The cast iron pipe which carried the water from the higher level (at the NE) has also been restored. The wheel is currently powered by and electric motor, but it is hoped that it will be able to revert to water power soon. The S facade of the mill building behind the wheel rises into a gable. Just beneath the gable (to the right side of the facade) are two window openings with single pane frames, with a similar window beneath at ground floor level. To the N and E of the mill building the ground rises, so the E gable and N facade both appear as single storey. The E gable contains a tall central window with an elliptical arch head and is now filled with stained glass. The N facade contains a large The openings on the W facade of the former kiln house appear to have been altered in recent times judging from fact that the rubble wall appears to have been patched at various points. To the far left on the ground floor of this facade is a timber sheeted door. To the right of this are four irregularly spaced single pane windows. To the far right is a large opening with an arch head (which is neither segmental nor pointed, but something in between the two), now filled with a large timber framed window (of 6 large panes) and a timber sheeted apron panel. To the far left on the first floor are three single pane windows as ground floor. Some of the smaller windows on this facade have brick dressings. Above the doorway to the far left is a carved stone panel which reads ‘Hugh Barnett Merchant in Belfast 1752’. Attached to the N end of the former kiln house is the two storey (and slightly taller) miller’s house, which is probably contemporary with the rest of the buildings (see ref. HB24/11/025). The roofs of both the mill building and the kiln house are gabled with Bangor blue slates, with various skylights in both roofs. The facades of both buildings are unrendered apart from a section around the doorway on the E elevation of the kiln house, which is finished in rough cast. This whole complex has been restored recently and adapted for use as a shop and restaurant. To the NE the ground has been landscaped somewhat and there is a set of modern steps which lead to the higher level to the rear of the mill building and the house. In this area to the rear a glass house has been erected, which houses a small garden centre.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

The stone panel on the side of the former kiln house reads ‘Hugh Barnett Merchant in Belfast 1752’, the year in which this (bleach) mill was built. Hugh (one of the Barnett’s of Barnett’s Park) appears to have died in c.1755 with the mill passing to his son James. In 1757 James Barnett let the complex. His advertisement shows that at this point much of what we see today was probably present with the mill having: ‘a good spring to supply the wash mill, led from the fountain in pipes round the boiling house, with a large drying loft, wash mill, beetling engine, two large furnaces with keeves and racks and all other bleaching utensils, with a good dwelling house, all new and slated’. The mill appears to have been particularly busy, bleaching 1200 pieces yearly, and by 1773 ‘two new slate cabins’ had been built for mill workers. But the prosperity of the site brought its own problems for the Barnett’s had neglected build a watch house and linen was regularly stolen from the green. Matters reached a head in 1773 when five pieces were stolen from the loft of the mill itself, prompting local notables to pledge £110 towards the conviction of the thieves. The grouping is shown on the first edition OS Map of 1834. At this stage the buildings were in the possession William Stitt, with the valuation records mentioning the dwelling house, office, boiler house and stables. Stitt (who resided in Comber) also had a flax mill in Carrowreagh townland a short distance to the north. Both sites are noted in the OS memoirs and on the first edition OS map of the area, which also indicates that there were other buildings just to the north east of the miller’s house, which may have been the mill workers cabins of 1773, or perhaps the stables. Around 1850 the grouping was acquired by a Newtownards baker named Munce who converted the buildings to a corn mill and kiln which continued in use until the 1920s. From c.1960s to c.1986 the mill buildings were used as dog kennels. In 1987/88 the entire complex was renovated and converted to a shop and restaurant, with the house apparently serving as a store. The water wheel has been fully restored also and is presently turned by an electric motor, but it is hoped that the flow of water to the wheel will recommence soon. For information concerning the miller’s house see ref. HB24/11/025. References- Primary sources 1 Linenhall Library Belfast News-Letter, 1757, 1773 [The BNL contains Barnett’s advertisement of 1757 and notices about the theft of linens (1773).] 2 PRONI D.654/LE/27 Londonderry Papers- Leases relating to Killarn townland, 1750-[?]. 3 PRONI VAL 1B/322 p.37 1st valuation, parish of Newtownards, townland of Killarn, 1833. 4 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st ed. 1834, sheet 5. 5 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Vol.7: Parishes of County Down II, ed. Angelique Day and Patrick McWilliams (QUB 1991), pp. 65, 110. 6 PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps 1st rev. 1858-60, sheet 5. 7 PRONI 2nd (‘Griffith’s’) valuation, parish of Newtownards, townland of Killarn. Secondary sources 1 E.R.R. Green 'The industrial archaeology of Co. Down' (HMSO 1963), p.29. 2 Peter Car 'The most unpretending of places- a history of Dundonald' (Dundonald 1987), pp.98-99.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Rubble built, two storey ‘T’’ shaped complex consisting of a former mill and kiln house (along with the miller’s house), dating from c.1752. The large water wheel is reputedly the largest in Ireland and has been restored recently, whilst the buildings themselves have now been converted to a shop and restaurant. Some of the window openings may have been altered in the process of conversion, but the facade is largely intact.

General Comments

Date of Survey

15 April 1998