HISTORY
We've done extensive research into the history of our mill. It was no easy feat, with such a small, vernacular building, but we got somewhere, and we're still searching. If you have come across this page and recognised the mill, please contact us to share your own story.
1600s
1803 - 1815
1827
1829 - 1840
1833
1838
1856
1858
1897
1901
1905
1908
1910
1911
1938 - 1939
1959
1964
1969
1974
1985
2022
The machinery and wooden hursting is dated to “well before the 18th century”, according to a 1974 publication on industrial archaeology.
A reference is made, in a 1959 newspaper article, to the mill being in existence at this time and under the ownership (presumed tenancy) of the Brady clan of Lurgan, the notable flax scutchers. It can be inferred from this that the original roof material might have been flax thatch (see year 1959 further down).
First contemporary verifiable records (discovered so far) from this period place the mill on the map, after it was surveyed as part of Mrs Sankey’s estate by Robert Stratford, housed by the National Library of Ireland. Mrs. Sankey would likely have been Barbara Sankey (nee Sneyd) of Fort Frederick, widow of the late Henry Gore Sankey, Lord Mayor of Dublin (1791-1972).
The corn kilns or the miller’s house along "mail coach" road do not feature on this map, and the infrastructure is not shown. The survey lists Charles Wilson as the tenant of the “Mill Holding”, however an “update” penciled in at a later point lists Bryan Lynch as the tenant. This map is the source of our belief that the cottage used to belong to the miller, rather than the kilnman, until the larger house on the road was constructed.
This cottage would have, at the time, fronted the main west-bound road, as the road by the school would only be constructed some time in the next two decades. With all the west-bound traffic having to pass right by the mill site, it would have been much more prominent at the time.
This (cropped) image is reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland, Manuscript map: 16 G. 49 (11)
Ordnance survey 6” map depicts the mill, kilns, cottage (the larger version of it), as well as the miller’s house by the road, allowing us to date the kiln and the miller’s house with some accuracy. The larger cottage still shows a watercourse running directly through / under it.
Another corn mill can be seen on this map (next door townland), however records show that our mill had priority water rights over the mill race.
The Tithe Applotment Books list “Chas Wilson” but there is no Bryan Lynch on the record for the townland at this point in time.
It can be surmised that the mill holding passed from Charles Wilson to Bryan Lynch in the preceding 5 years.
A valuation from July, lists Bryan Lynch as the owner of the mill. It also lists all the buildings on site, as well as the mill machinery:
• corn mill 45 x 18.6 x 7
• fan house 12 x 12 x 7
• corn kilns 27.6 x 16 x 12 and 14 x 15 x 11
• miller’s house 23.6 x 14 x 5
• kilnman’s house 30 x 14 x 5 and fish house
It also lists the two wheels: grinding (11’6” diameter, buckets 2’10” deep) and shelling (10’6” diameter, buckets 2’3” deep) with 11” depth of shrouding, fall of water 7’2”, and the two pairs of millstones (grinding and shelling): new 4’9” and old 4’11”. Machinery is classed as B.
The Valuation of Tenements (i.e. the Griffiths Valuation) was undertaken in the area. This lists Bridget Lynch (presumably the widow of Bryan Lynch) as a tenant of Mrs. Drummond Delap, in charge of “house, offices, corn mill and land”, with a total annual valuation of £20, 10s.
Mary Gore Sankey, (i.e. Mrs Drummond Delap), daughter of Mrs Barbara Sankey and wife of the British slave trader William Drummond Delap (Dunlop) with a residence in Monasterboice, Co. Louth, had their estate surveyed at this time by Hodge, Smith and Co., a map agency based on Grafton Street in Dublin. The manuscript is kept at the National Library in Ireland.
This shows the larger version of the cottage with water running directly through it. It also shows three bridges for the tail races / stream, however only two survived to 1908, with the southernmost crossing becoming a ford. The fact that the area around the new miller’s house has expanded by another two structures could be an indicator that the mill business was doing well.
Unfortunately, the index for this particular townland is missing a page in the original manuscript book (donated to the NLI in 1948), and it happens to be the one that would list the mill holding.
It is speculated that at some point after the construction of the miller’s house on the coach road, the longer cottage was retained for the kilnman, but manually reduced to the size it is today, as anything above the 6 openings would have incurred taxes. The 1908 OS map shows the smaller cottage.
This (cropped) image is reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Ireland, Manuscript map: 16 F 3
A newspaper describes the area as a hub of services and activities: “big broad coach road, two corn mills, two school-houses, two shops, two bridges and a “hole in the wall”, a coach-factory, a smithy, an emigration office and a gate-house” though “no residence for a dispensary doctor”.
There is also a historic record of a wage suit in the local Petty Sessions, between Edward Lynch, the tenant running the mill holding and a worker who came to work in the corn mill, although it appear to be relatively cordial and ends in arbitration.
Edward Lynch, his nephew and niece Bernard and Mary Clarke are all listed on the 1901 census records as residents of the miller’s house. Bernard Clarke is listed as “miller”.
There is a newspaper record relating to the kilnman’s cottage. It is part of a long article entitled “Cottages cost nothing to the ratepayers”, containing a number of disputes about worker accommodation on tenants’ land. It corroborates the living memory stories that the cottage used to house 15 people at one point in time.
The mill holding passed on to Bernard Clarke, on Edward’s death. Bernard acts as an executor of his will.
From the note on water level to the nearby Loughs, it can be inferred that the 25” OS survey was conducted around this time in this area. This map now shows the road constructed by the school in the middle of the 19th century, and some new development, including a smithy and a post office. The road in front of the cottage will eventually become obsolete. It is still there today, however it has remained an unpaved dirt road.
A call went out to contractors in the area for repairs of 115 perches (cca. 740m) of road between the mills and the church. It is possible that these works went ahead, as the new parallel road was now in place.
According to the 1911 Census records, Peter McGivney ("kiln-man") lives in the cottage with his wife and 6 children, while an elder daughter lives in the miller’s house as a servant for Bernard and Mary (his sister) Clarke.
The dwelling (slate roof, stone walls, 2 rooms and 4 windows at front) is noted as 2nd class.
A year after the death of his sister Mary, Bernard Clarke decided to “give up farming” and put the mill, farm and lands up for sale.
A number of ads were placed in the paper over a period of two years, before a “to let” advertisement was published instead. Shortly after, the mill started operating again under the management of Mr. L. Burns, who would eventually end up purchasing the premises, although newspaper articles show it belonged to J. J. Watson in 1940-41. The mill became, and is still currently known as “Burns’ mill”; it remained in the ownership of the Burn’s family until 2022, although the deeds show that Bernard Clarke (who had no descendants) was given a room in the miller’s house for the remainder of his life.
The mill was reroofed, with thatch being replaced with corrugated metal, which has survived (except for the rear outshoot) to this day. The roof was also slightly raised with concrete blocks. Photographs exist of the thatched roof.
A newspaper article details the particulars of a lawsuit regarding eel fishing, between the mill owner and a fisherman. The article is of interest as it mentions locations and operation procedures of sluice gates, the presence of the eel trap at the mill, as well as the exclusive rights of the mill owner to the stream, and the responsibility for keeping in clear of debris.
The mill stops operating and starts falling into disrepair. The kiln closed down a few years prior.
The mill is surveyed for the Report on industrial archaeological monuments in county. This is where the machinery setup is estimated to date to “well before the 18th century” and it contains some relevant descriptions.
A working model of the shelling wheel was built by a student of St Patrick’s College. The 1985 article refers to the mill as “the oldest mill” in the county, but if that were true, it would mean it predates 1684 (the earliest record found so far). The 1974 assessment of mill and machinery would support this claim.
Unfortunately, the model has since been destroyed.
The mill site was purchased by Chris and Kat with the intention of restoring it and bringing it back to use, and to the community.