Cavan Water Mill
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Cavan Water Mill, formerly Lifeforce Mill, is a 19th-century mill in Cavan in Ireland. The mill building dates from 1846 and contains a MacAdam water turbine. Having been abandoned in the 1960s, it was restored as a museum and visitor attraction in the 1990s.[1][2] As of 2017, the museum was open at limited times and subject to advance booking.[3][needs update]
History
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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.[4] 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.[4]
Design
[edit | edit source]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.[5] Its entry in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes it as the "only surviving example of five mills in Cavan town".[5] It is included on the Record of Protected Structures maintained by Cavan County Council.[6]
MacAdam turbine
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Cavan Water Mill operates a MacAdam turbine as opposed to a conventional water wheel. The turbine was described, in 1993, as "one of the few, if not the only surviving MacAdam turbines in Ulster".[7] 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.[4] A similar turbine was installed at Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills, Cork in 1853.[4]
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Cavan Water Mill website (archived 2019)
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