PROJECT
BALLYCOPELAND WINDMILL AND VISITOR CENTRE, MILLISLE
WIND OF CHANGE FOR HISTORIC MONUMENT
LOWRY’S RESTORATION AND NEW BUILD PROJECT SECURES A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE WORLD’S LAST REMAINING HOOPER ROLLER-REEFING WINDMILL…
T he 18th century Ballycopeland generations by a £1.7m development, delivered by Lowry Building & Civil Engineering. The project includes the provision of a new café and striking heritage centre with interpretive works that helps tell the story of this unique agricultural building. Ballycopeland is the only hooper roller- reefing windmill left in the world, and it is even rarer as it still retains its original machinery inside along with its original ancillary buildings, elevating the site to international importance. Windmill, Millisle, has been expertly restored and preserved for future Designed by Captain Stephen Hooper, and built between the 1780s and 1790s, the windmill was used in the production
of animal feed until 1915, before it was taken into state care in 1937. The site is managed by the Historic Environment Division (HED) at the Department for Communities. Works to the site involved a new access road with car parking and refurbishment of the existing miller’s cottage, kiln and kilnman’s house. The visitor centre also includes a ‘Changing Places’ facility, which will be open to the general public, improving access for those with limited mobility not just to the site itself but to the wider Ards Peninsula. The visitor centre has an exposed glulam timber frame, is clad in timber panelling and features a ‘green roof’. Large, floor- to-ceiling windows flood the café area with natural light, as well as providing
visitors with a view of the windmill and its ancillary buildings. The refurbished stone built miller’s cottage and the kilnman’s house contain a modern interpretive set, including furniture of that time, which tells and vividly illustrates the history of Ballycopeland Windmill. The barn also contains interpretive material showing how the windmill mechanism works and how the grain was processed. The project involved extremely close collaborative work with the client, HED, explained Chris McIvor, Project Manager for Lowry’s. “Previously, we have worked on buildings of historic merit which have required the involvement of the HED overseeing the conservation aspect; but this is the first time we have worked
“We are delighted to help put the focus back onto this unique building and provide for a sustainable future.”
48 | NI BUILDER
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