Ballydugan Mill

Whilst the politics of Ireland descended into further turmoil, the Nevins, Potters and their business partners did not allow themselves to be distracted too much, and in 1792, they embarked on the building of the Ballydugan Flour Mill.

The history of the mill is summarised on the web-page of its current owners who restored the ruined mill in the 1980s and converted it into a hotel and restaurant. Six storeys high and powered by water, wind and steam, the mill all too briefly brought employment and prosperity to the region. 

Ballydugan Mill before its restoration. Tweeted by Cyril Dobbin

By 1857 however, the mill had been abandoned. And by this time too, Hetty Jane Owen’s Irish ancestors had mostly disappeared from the County Down scene.