Herdman's Old Flax Mill, Sion Mills, 10 Feb 2024 Short - v1

The name Sion comes from the townland of Seein, which lies to the south of the village. It is an anglicisation of an Irish place name: either Suidhe Fhinn (meaning "seat of Finn") or Sidheán (also spelt Síodhán and Sián, meaning "fairy mound").

 

In the Civil Survey of 1640 a Corn Mill on this site at Shean, Liggartown is mentioned as part of the Abercorn Estate. Galbraith Hamilton became the tenant in about 1729 and, on the adjoining lands, established a Bleach Green which was abandoned around 1779.

In the 1750s, the Mill was in need of rebuilding, and Hamilton was advised to add a Wheat Mill to it, for which he was loaned £100 by the Marquis of Abercorn. He also petitioned the Irish House of Commons in 1765 for financial assistance in building the Mill. However, this venture did not prove successful. In the 1780s, Abercorn intervened personally and more than £1,000 was laid out on improving the Seein mill. This included £39 for two French millstones and £36 for a stove for drying wheat. Abercorn acquired the services of Alexander Stewart to design and build it.

In 1828, this mill was rebuilt by Abercorn, but shortly afterwards became incorporated in the flax spinning mill as it stands today.

 

The first of the Herdman family to arrive in Ulster in 1688 was Captain Jack Herdman, of Herdmanston, Ayrshire, he fought for King William III at the Battle of the Boyne before settling at Glenavy, County Antrim. Further members of the family arrived from Ayrshire in 1699 and established themselves as farmers.

By the 1830s three Herdman brothers (James, John and George) were involved in businesses within Belfast. James, the eldest brother, inherited Millfield Tannery from his father, and John went into partnership with the Mulhollands who owned the York Street Spinning Mill. In 1835 all three brothers in partnership with brothers Andrew and Sinclair Mulholland and Robert Lyons purchased a flour mill located in Seein, near Strabane, County Tyrone, from the 2nd Marquess of Abercorn.

Sion (or Seein, meaning a ‘Fairy Mound’) was adjacent to the River Mourne and was purchased by way of a 500-year lease.

 

From its very beginning the mill at Sion was designed as a social experiment. Its development was heavily influenced by the theories and work of the social reformer Robert Owen who in the early 1800s transformed the village of New Lanark (Scotland) into a model community providing a range of facilities for the welfare of its mill worker and their families.

 

Among the economic factors that brought the Herdman and their partners to Sion were: the existence of the old mill which could be adapted to the spinning process; a reliable supply of water throughout the year from the River Mourne; the proximity to a large number of flax growers in North West Ulster; the port at Londonderry; and a readily available pool of labour.

 

Production started at Sion in November 1835 with 75 employees. Over 400 worked at the mill by 1849 when the Herdman’s became the sole owners, having bought out their partners.

By the 1870`s the mill employed over 1,000 people and at its peak Herdman`s mill had approximately 1,500 workers.

 

The Herman’s built schools where children of all religious traditions could learn together, churches, recreational and sporting facilities including a billiard room, cricket pitch, bowling green, handball court, tennis courts, football pitches and Captain Jack Herdman who was a passionately keen angler himself, founder of Sion Mills Angling Club.

 

The Herman’s brothers founded the Herdsman’s / Sion Mills Brass Band in the 1840’s. In 1870 the conductor was Mr Griggs, and David Hill from 1879 to 1880 and James Connolly from 1884 to 1894.

 

The Herdsman’s aspired to have a workforce and community which was completely integrated, and one of the most important aspects of Sion which cemented this integration and family spirit has always been Sport. Sion Mills is particularly well-known for its cricket and has a most distinguished cricketing history. The club being founded in 1864 by Emerson Tennent Herdman under the patronage of the Herdman family with the cricket ground being located on the down-stream side of the old Mill and was known locally as the ‘Holm Field’.

Captain John Claudius "Jack" Herdman (born 30th December 1876) was President of Sion Mills Cricket from 1923 until his death on 14th July 1964 said that “cricket surpasses all creeds and classes”.

The club won the North West Senior League on 28 occasions and the Northwest Senior Cup 29 times. The club is remembered internationally as the host of the famous victory by Ireland over the West Indies on 2nd July 1969 when the Ireland Cricket team bowled the West Indies all out for 25 runs.

 

The Main Mill was built between 1853 to 1855 the architect was William Lynn and built by John McCracken. Built from grey ashlar stone quarried locally in Douglas Bridge the building was designed as a fireproof mill. This building was used for preparing and spinning until 1989 when the Mourne Mill was opened and it was abandoned.

The Main Mill was built wider than normal for spinning mills, which enabled Herdsman’s to survive in later years when others couldn't, because they were unable to accommodate these larger machines.

 

The frontage of the Line Preparing and Mechanics Shop were built in 1888 with yellow brick from Kilmarnock. A two-storey yellow-brick extension was built in 1888 by J. Ballantine and Company, Derry and designed by William Lynn (known as the New End).

Three storeys were added to the New End in 1907 with no pillars thus leaving more room for longer machines. This was achieved by buttressing the walls and using girders of very heavy section.

 

By the end of the 19th Century the Herdman family had built 240 workers houses in the village, which accommodated a population of over 2000. The buildings in the village are considered so important that 40 of them are listed for preservation.

 

In 1847 during the potato famine, there is a series of letters from James and George Herdman to their brother John in Belfast that explain how they coped with keeping their workers and families alive in very difficult circumstances. The devotion of the Herdman family to their workers and the villagers is well known and respected. The village houses were sold off to their occupants for between £60 and £180 each in the early 1960s. The legacy of the villagers living, working and going to school together persists and the new state primary school which superseded the Mill School in the 1970s was the first integrated state school in Northern Ireland.

On 9 May 1852, Sion Mills Railway Station opened and the railway served the area for 112 years until the station closed on 15 February 1965.

 

Unfortunately, due to competition from China, Herdman Ltd, closed down all production in Sion Mills over a 2-year period and finally ceased spinning linen on 19th May 2004 and with its closure the employment of approximately 300 workers were terminated which was a significant blow to Sion Mills and the surrounding towns and villages.

 

The mill building still stand, however in very poor state of repair. In September 1999, a group of villagers came together with Celia Ferguson (nee Herdman, her father was Commander Claudius Herdman & James Herdman was Celia's great-great-grandfather) to form the Sion Mills Preservation Trust with the prime objective of rescuing the old Herdman Mill and associated buildings and develop the site as a Heritage Centre for the Linen Industry. Unfortunately, they did not succeed, however people are still trying to develop and maintain facilities in the historic village.

 

On Saturday October 2010 a derelict part of the Mill was gutted by fire. The company that owned the mill went into receivership in 2011 and in 2014 the site was bought by Strabane woman Margaret Loughrey for an estimated £1m after she won almost £27m in the EuroMillions lottery draw in Dec 2013.

Celia Ferguson's father was Commander Claudius Herdman

 

During the Great Famine, the Herdman’s tried to ensure that not just the people living in the village but as many others as possible were fed.

 

As part of the “experiment” the Herdman Brothers who advocated temperance, banned Public Houses in the village. Sion Mills remained a “dry” village until 1896 when the Herdman family lost a court case on this issue and within a short time Sion Mills had gained its first Public House.

Unlike factories elsewhere, from the start, the Herdsman’s insisted that the working conditions at the Mill were good. The Mill was well ventilated and clean, instead of being dusty and airless.

In 1839 a gas-works (coal-fired) was built and the Mill was lit by gas lamps and in 1842 pipes were laid to the village so that every house had a light, the shop had 4 lights and there were street lights.

Between 1900 & 1903 the Mill installed turbines (1000 horsepower) and later between 1919 to 1920 DC Turbines installed in the new ‘Small Turbine 135 horsepower to generate electric to light the Mill, the village, Sion House and Camus Rectory.

There’s been a series of malicious fires over the years, the latest on Monday 19 Aug 2019 all of which have totally decimated the buildings.

 

There’s been a series of malicious fires over the years, Saturday 30th July 2011, Sunday 11 October 2015, Friday 10th June 2016, Saturday 11th June 2016 and Saturday 30th July 2016 and the latest on Monday 19 Aug 2019 all of which have totally decimated the buildings.

 

Brigadier General Ambrose St. Quentin Ricardo

C.M.G., C.B.E., D.S.O., Q.S.A. was the son of Henry David Ricardo and Ellen Crawley and the great-grandson of the famous political economist David Ricardo (b.1772 b.1823).

Aged 4 he is recorded in a UK Census of 1871 as living with his parents, seven siblings, a governess and seven servants having a Sephardic Jewish ancestry, he was born 21 Nov 1866 in his family seat in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England.

Ricardo served in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and like many of his contemporaries saw service in India and in South Africa during the Boer War.

On 13 July 1893 he married Elizabeth Alice ('Ella') Herdman in Thayetmyo, Bengal, India. He settled in Sion Mills around 1903 after retiring from military life to take up the post of Director of Herman’s Ltd in Sion Mills up until his death. He was largely instrumental in having the Church of the Good Shepherd built in the village, construction beginning in 1909. He and his wife carried out many other improvements to the village, and they were amongst the co-founders of the Derry Feis (an arts and cultural festival).

Brigadier General Ricardo was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and three bars for gallantry during his military service and was adulated for his exceptional organisational skills. During the 3rd Home Rule Crisis in Ireland (1912 to 1914) he would go on to help train and arm the UVF in Co. Tyrone being opposed to Irish independence.

In the late summer of 1914 following the outbreak of World War 1, Ricardo anticipated the formation of the 36th Ulster Division and raised two companies of men, constituting the nucleus of the 9th Battalion of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The 36th Ulster Division served with great distinction during the First World War and fought with notable gallantry at the Battle of the Somme.

Ricardo not only raised a significant body of volunteers to fight against Home Rule in Ireland (a force which subsequently served in the war against Germany) he also went on to lead the Scout movement in Ulster and supported a nine-county settlement to the partition of Ireland.

Tragically on a hot summer's day on 9th July 1923, whilst out walking his dog Corporal, he drowned after going to inspect the level of the water at the village reservoir, which he himself had instigated. His faithful dog was standing beside the reservoir when the search party arrived. He was buried in the vestibule of the church of the Good Shepard in Sion Mills.

 

Sion House

Sion House was built by the Herdman’s in 1846, was designed by Charles Lanyon of Lanyon Lynn and Lanyon, Belfast and altered in 1888 by William E Unsworth to a 50-room dwelling in Elizabethan Revival style. Unsworth also designed many of the buildings in the village including the Men’s Institute (now the Recreation Club) and the large Church of the Good Shepherd in 1909 in Byzantine style which was modelled on a church in Pistoia, Tuscany. The style of the Main Mill and the layout of the village is reputed to have been influenced by Titus Salt (built Saltaire Woolen Mills, Bradford, West Yorkshire) however there is no written record to confirm this.

 

The Weir or Carry

The spectacular River Mourne with its immense water-power was the reason the Herdman brothers chose this site for the location of their flax spinning mill. This is still very much a feature of the old mill with its modern 2016 hydroelectric plant with 800 kw Kaplan turbines which are connected to the national grid. The huge weir is 531 ft (162m) wide and diverts a portion of the river into the 35 ft (10.6m) wide mill lade which flows through a complicated system of sluice gates, with an overflow sluice that returns water back into the main river. The river water flows quickly down the mill race and between the two main buildings of the old Herdman Flax Mill.

 

The Swinging Bridge

as it is known locally, or Bearney Footbridge is a suspension footbridge which connects both sides of the River Mourne and was originally built to allow workers from the townlands of Camus and Bearney to access the Hermand’s Flax Mill from the East bank of the river. During a devistating flood of 22 October 1987 the old bridge was washed away, also the banks of the river burst and flooded the nearby town of Strabane. The old bridge was replaced with the one you see today.

The bridge "bounces" slightly as you step across it which some enjoy and others do not. From the middle of the bridge you will be presented with spectacular views of the River Mourne both upstream to the ‘Grevenue Pool’ and downstream to the ‘Long Streams’ and the surrounding wooded banks of the river. Regularly during the salmon fishing season, anglers will wade the water fly fishing for the allusive salmon. This is a marvellous spot in which to view this active sporting pastime partaken by many locals and visiting anglers.

 

Mourne Side Walk

This area is set amongst lovely mature trees, all combine to provide a fascinating and beautiful spectacle. This is where Mrs CF Alexander wrote her famous hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful" when she lived in Camus-Juxta-Mourne Rectory which overlooked the weir, a Georgian house later owned by the Herdman family.

 

Irish Cricket Team bowl the West Indies all out for 25.

The 2nd July 1969 was a day which will always stand out in Sion Mills cricketing circles, in Ireland and internationally. It was the day that Ireland beat the West Indies at the Holm Field Cricket Grounds at Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone. The West Indies team were about two thirds through their tour of England. Between the 2nd and 3rd Test Matches, they were scheduled to play against Ireland. Whilst they were probably tired from playing the two previous matches in England, they must have expected that playing against Ireland would be a walkover. Although five of their best players had remained in England, they still fielded a good team, led by Basil Butcher.

West Indies had played a close match in Lord's Cricket Grounds, in London, on 1st July, resulting in a draw. From there, they rushed to Heathrow Airport to catch a plane to Belfast and then travelled by coach to Lifford, Co. Donegal where they stayed overnight, having arrived late and make the 3 mile jounney to Sion Mills in the morning. Therefore, they did not have time to inspect the Sion Mills Cricket Grounds until they arrived to play.

Herdman’s gave their 700 employees the day off to watch the match and many people from around the area came to watch. It was estimated that the crowd was about 2,000.

 

Overnight, it had rained and the wicket had not been covered. It was not the sort of conditions which the West Indies were used to. Surprisingly, Butcher decided to bat first. Despite the day being bright and sunny, things would not go well for the West Indies team. Amazingly, within 60 minutes, they were bowled out for a mere 25 runs. Ireland, led by Douglas Edward Goodwin managed to score 19 runs for 1 wicket before the break for lunch. At the break, the two captains agreed that they would play to the end of the day, regardless of the score (by Ireland), because of the spectators. In the first over after lunch, Ireland scored 7 runs and had, therefore, won but they played on till they had reached 125 for 8 when they declared. As Ireland was playing the pitch was starting to dry out and this helped Ireland, as did the mediocre bowling by the West Indies.

That left 85 minutes for the West Indies to play a second innings, however excellent right-arm fast-medium bowling by Douglas Goodwin ensured that the West Indies only scored 78 for 4 before close. The total for the West Indies was 103 runs against 125 for Ireland. A humiliating defeat!

The Irish supporters were euphoric at their win. The West Indies blamed their captain for not taking the match seriously.

The teams moved to Belfast for the second day of play where the match resulted in a draw.

 

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