Sintons' Mill is an abandoned

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

factory, dating to 1865, located by the Cusher River in

Tandragee Tandragee () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on a hillside above the Cusher River, and is overlooked by Tandragee Castle. The town is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Ballymore, County Armagh, Ballymore and t ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, Northern Ireland.

History

The mill, dating back to 1865 as a corn mill, was subsequently leased by James Rowlie and Robert Davis, who transformed it into a flax spinning mill known as the ''Tandragee Flax Spinning Company''. This enterprise was unsuccessful, leading to the business entering liquidation in 1871. Following this,

Thomas Sinton Thomas Sinton, JP (February 1826 – 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh. Thomas Sinton was born ...

acquired the property, including its machinery, as part of the expansion of his company from its original location in nearby

Laurelvale Laurelvale is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside the smaller village of Mullavilly and the two are sometimes referred to as Laurelvale-Mullavilly or Mullavilly-Laurelvale. The village is three miles south of Portadown and ...

. In the 1880s, it stood as the predominant employer in Tandragee, providing jobs for over 600 individuals, with nearly every household in the town depending on it for their income. A horn would sound across Tandragee, signalling the workers to begin work at 6:00AM. This sound was able to be heard in Acton, located four miles away from the mill. Although the mill was located beside the Cusher River, it did not use water power for its operations. Instead, a steam engine powered the machinery. The coal required for this engine was transported from

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

through the

Newry Canal The Newry Canal is an abandoned canal in Northern Ireland. Opened in 1742, it was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea. The navigable route ran from Lough Neagh via the Upper Bann river to Portadown (approximated 9 miles), then ...

. Local small farmers were contracted to retrieve this coal from The Madden (Tandragee Harbour). In 1996, approximately 200 individuals were employed at the mill; however, the decline in the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

resulted in the complex having to shut down.

21st century

In 2002, plans were underway to transform the mill, still owned by the Sinton family, into a tourist and retail destination, aiming for an investment of £7 to £8 million. Planning permission was approved for this project; however, the property was listed for sale in 2003. The Grade B2 listed mill building experienced an arson attack on 29 October 2024 with the response of firefighters in 4 appliances, supported by a specialist aerial unit and a water carrier vehicle from the

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for Northern Ireland. The NIFRS is overseen by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board, which in turn is subordinate to the Department of H ...

References

Linen industry in Ireland {{improve categories, date=October 2024 19th-century establishments in Ireland