Flour Mill, Mill Dam — Westown

The 1654-6 Civil Survey of Dublin recorded that in 1641 on the lands of 'Peter Hussie of Westowne' there stood 'one stone house part thereof slated ye rest thereof one small Chaffe Barne w[i]th] three or foure Cottages one Corne Mill & one Tuck Mill in use worth fifteen poundes w[hi]ch Mills are in ye aforesaid towne of Nall [Naul]' (Simington 1945, 32). The 1655-6 Down Survey map of the parish of Naul shows 'Paul [Naul] Bridge' (DU004-045008-) crossing the River Elfin [Delvin], to the E of a watermill in Co. Meath in the area where Naul Park House stands today. It is possible however that the mill depicted on the Down Survey map of Naul Parish was the watermill located on the S bank of the Delvin River rather than a mill in Co. Meath. The terrier of the Down Survey Map of the Parish of Naul recorded that at; 'ye. River Elfin on w[hi]ch Stands a Mill in Repaire, in the Towneland of the Naule & a Bridge (DU004-045008-) over the Said River' (NLI Ms. 714). This was replaced by a flour mill erected by Arthur Mervyn between 1718 and 1722. The Old Mill ceased operations sometime between 1869 and 1906 and was roofless by 1934, when Oliver St. john Gogarty pondered the 'ruined .... roofless mill' in a poem he entitle The Mill at Naul. An archaeological assessment was undertaken (Licence No. 04E1261) prior to renovation. No archaeological finds or features were identified (O'Hara, 2004). See attached Down Survey Map of the Barony of Balrothery showing 'The Naule Bridg' and watermill on the 'River of Elfin' (Hib. Reg.) See attached Rocque's 1760 Map of County Dublin the settlement of Naul (https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/mg74qp03f) NLI Ms 714 National Library of Ireland, The parish maps of the Down Survey for the county of Dublin, attested by William Petty in 1657, copied by Daniel O'Brien, 1786-1787. Compiled by: Geraldine Stout Updated by: Christine Baker Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 1 February 2023