Herdmans Mill & Mourneside River Walk

The Herdmans purchased land from the Marquis of Abercorn in 1835 to build their flax mill.  Sion Mills being chosen as a rural area of high employment and with enormous waterpower in a prolific flax growing region. Heavily influenced by the concept of the planned settlement of ‘New Lanark’ in Scotland which was built around an 18th century cotton mill, the Herdmans’ vision was to create an educated and mixed community around a flax-spinning business.  They built a model village, a school, churches, recreational and sporting facilities and succeeding in creating a community where everyone, of both religious traditions, lived, were educated and worked together. 
 

At its height the Old Mill employed 1500 people. Unfortunately, due to competition from overseas suppliers Herdmans Ltd closed down all production in 2004.   In 1853 the Herdmans built a new mill from stone quarried at Douglas with a top story added to it in 1879.   The great mill chimney, built in 1877, is still a landmark today standing at 152 feet high and visible for miles.

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The mill complex is situated on the west bank of the Mourne River, within the village of Sion. The main entrance lies roughly to the south west corner of the site and is sandwiched between the large ‘main mill’ grouping (to the north west) and the admin. block (to the south east). It consists of a high sandstone wall with a large elliptical arched carriage entrance with timber sheeted double doors. The wall is topped with a cornice and blocking course with ‘springing course’ to the arch and the date ‘1835’ inscribed on the ‘keystone’ voussoirs. This gateway appears to be all that remains of the original mill of the 1830s. To the south west of the tower is a large part two, part single storey section in yellow brick which was added between 1884 and c.1907. To the SE of the tower is a four storey gabled extension, also in yellow brick, dating from 1907. To the north west is a double gabled single storey block, mainly in red brick, which spans the former mill race and probably dates from c.1900. To the south west is a large four storey gabled section of 1907 mainly in yellow brick, which with its austere classical appearance and thick buttresses, has a Post War Eastern Bloc Constructivist feel.

 

 The original portion of the main mill is four storeys high with an attic floor and topped with a slated double pile hipped roof. The façade is mainly in light brown sandstone (which was quarried at Douglas a few miles to the south). To the west of the original mill is a large area with a bowling green and tennis court, with a small timber pavilion to the west of these. This whole area appears to have been laid out in the early 1900s. To the north is a cricket pitch, laid out c.1864, and football pitches of more recent vintage. Far to the south (on the Mourne River) is the weir which was originally constructed for the pre 1832 corn mill, but has been much modified in more recent years.

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One of the most important reasons the Herdmans chose this site for their mill was its close proximity to the River Mourne.  The Herdmans commissioned the prominent 19th century industrial engineer Sir William Fairbairn, to construct a waterpower system including the mill stream and weir to drive the waterwheels to power the mill.  Derry City & Strabane District Council have developed a 0.7 miles circular riverwalk along the banks of the Mourne River, the walk skirts the perimeter of the mill and crosses the river in a few locations offering panoramic views of the 19th century weir, the old mill and the swinging bridge, originally built to facilitate mill workers.  The current bridge was built in 1988 replacing earlier bridges built in 1871 and 1929 respectively.

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