Coppanagh Mills

Detached two-bay four-storey water mill, built c.1800, with two-bay two-storey wing having steps at gable end to first floor entrance, external water wheel to east. Now disused. Pitched slate roof to mill, wing roof collapsed. Roughly coursed rubble limestone walling with dressed cornerstones, stone lintels to upper level windows with stone sills. Elliptical and flat headed door openings with dressed voussoirs, one opening blocked up with post box of c.1905 inserted. Wheel comprising cast-iron shroud plates and wooden axle fed at low-breast level, timber sole plates and buckets now disintegrated, mill race passes under the road spanned by a masonry arch. Set back at a slight angle from road.

A corn mill of modest scale that is an important part of the industrial heritage of Coppanagh and its surrounding area. The mill was associated with the Halls family from at least the time of the Griffith Valuation in the 1850s and supported the local agricultural economy throughout the nineteenth century and into the mid twentieth century. The surviving mill wheel and mill race are of particular interest, providing insight into the technical aspects of milling using water power. The building is well constructed of rubble stone with dressed elements and is a strong architectural feature of the rural setting, complemented by a miller’s house, a small road bridge, and the remains of a former flax mill. The inset post box is a further indicator of the key role of this site for the surrounding agricultural community.