Newmills Corn and Flax Mills - Corn Mill

Corn Mill

The corn mill handled mainly oats as well as barley and maize all of which were grown locally. The mill is a three-storey building and all the apparatus of the mill, stone, sieves, bucket elevators, fans and a sack hoist are powered by a 7.63 metre (25 ft) waterwheel manufactured by J.Stevenson's Strabane Foundry in 1867. The waterwheel turned at three revoulutions a minute generating eight horsepower which was transferred from the waterwheel to the mill apparatus by means of gearing and belting. The building also housed a kiln for drying the grain. Harry Pinkerton from Raphoe, the miller at Newmills for some years after the Second World War, stated that the mill was in operation nearly all year round. From the harvest in late summer right up to April or May the following year the mill was engaged in grinding the locally grown grains. During the summer months, animal-feed was prepared, usually by mixing maize with oats.

The first processing of the grain that had been delivered by the farmer to the mill was to dry it. The grain was spread to a depth of around 15 cm (6ins) on the drying floor, made up of perforated metal plates on the ground floor. These were heated by the kiln on the lowerground floor, which was fired with a mulled coal, a smokeless fuel, somewhat like anthracite. Turf was not used as it gave the oats an unpleasant flavour. The kiln could dry two tonnes of oats a day, but this could be increased to another half tonne by putting on a load over night.

The grain was then moved to the shelling stones, one or two sets of stones on the ground floor. These separated the hull or husk from the kernel of the grain. The kernels were then ground into oatmeal by the grinding or milling stones. These were usually of a stone known as French burr. The grinding faces had to be dressed or picked at regular intervals to keep the cutting edges sharp. The upper or runner stone could be raised or lowered depending on whether fine, pinhead or coarse oatmeal was required. The meal was lifted to the first floor or upper level where it was cleaned, winnowed and sieved on a series of shakers and fans located there. After this, it was taken back to the lower ground floor to be bagged and then hoisted to the storage area to await collection. Using an ingenious combination of hoists, belts, pulleys and elevators, the whole milling process was highly mechanised and could be managed without too much difficulty by one man. It took 75 kg (1.25cwt) of oats to make 50 kg (1cwt) of meal, although it could be more depending on the quality of the oats. The ground meal was weighed by the miller and muthered, which meant that the miller retained 4.5 kg (10 lbs) of meal from every 50 kg bag, as payment for his work. Original family home, still on the grounds is presently owned by Robert Kryger, of New York, Grandson of Sarah Gallagher, who was sister of Patrick Gallagher .