Cavan Water Mill

The power room at the mill

Cavan Water Mill, formerly Lifeforce Mill, is a 19th-century mill located in Cavan. The current building dates from 1846 and contains a notable MacAdam water turbine. Having been abandoned in the 1960s, it was restored as a museum and visitor attraction in the 1990s.[1]

History of the site

Room containing milling stones, which were used for grinding grains

Milling on this site can be traced back to the 14th century, when there was a Franciscan mill in the same location.[1]

The current mill was established by the Greene family in 1846.[2] During the 1840s, there were 90 working water mills in County Cavan, but at the time this mill was built it was the only one within a two-mile radius.[1]

The building operated as a mill for more than a century until its closure in the 1960s. Following restoration, it operated again for a short while as a working mill for the creation of wholemeal flour for Lifeforce Foods.[2]

Design of the building

The two-storey design has a three-bay extension at split level to the west and a two-storey return to the side. An adjacent mill building to the north was removed from its original site and rebuilt here in 1995 as part of the mill's restoration.[3] As the only surviving example of one of the five mills that stood in Cavan Town, it is listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage for Ireland.[3]

MacAdam Turbine

Cavan Water Mill cogs

Cavan Water Mill operates a MacAdam turbine as opposed to a conventional water wheel. The turbine was described as one of the few, if not the only surviving MacAdam turbines in Ulster in 1983.[4] The turbine may be an example of 19th-century industrial espionage, as it is believed to be a patent infringing copy of a design by Benoît Fourneyron.[2] A similar turbine was installed at Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills, Cork in 1853.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Green Mill or the Life Force Mill". cavanwalkinghistory.ie. Cavan Walking History. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mulvihill, Mary (2002). Ingenious Ireland. Dublin: TownHouse and CountryHouse Ltd. p. 226. ISBN 1860591450. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Main Record – County Cavan". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Anglo Celt, Professor Alan Crocker. Retrieved from http://www.anglocelt.ie/photostore/image-31352

External Links

Coordinates: 53°59′20″N 7°21′43″W / 53.988854°N 7.361829°W / 53.988854; -7.361829

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