The Mill was built on the Boyne River when inland water transport was of great importance. The original factory buildings, weir, mill race and dam where constructed in 1766 by Mr Jebb for the purpose of milling flour. These structures are still in use and pay testimony to their excellent construction.
Slane Mill was the largest mill in Ireland in its day, the first of a number of large mills, which reflected the remarkable degree of economic development the country had attained at that time. The Mill was originally powered by two large water wheels. The corn was hoisted to the upper storey of the building into spacious granaries, which held five thousand barrels. There it was dried in kilns and passed to a fanning machine for removal of dirt, soil etc. The corn was then sent through a sifting machine to the hoppers on the ground floor. There it was sorted into different types of pollard and bran.
The Mill was reputed to grind fifteen tonnes per day. Flour was milled here for over one hundred years. Flour and grain milling in general flourished in Ireland under the protection policy of Grattan’s parliament (1782 – 1800), along with other industries under the Union. However this became staggered under the repeal of the Corn Laws and the great famine of 1848. The final mortal blow came with the introduction of roller milling in the 1870’s. Slane Mill was unable to compete, and so it gradually dwindled and became derelict.
From 1880 the Mill was used as a coal depot for some time. Towards the end of the First World War it was taken over by a Northern Irish firm who renovated the buildings and installed a water turbine and flax scutching machinery. In 1935 the Mill then began its weaving history, when it was used for weaving cloth for the manufacture of cotton cloth for flour bags. This trade was rapidly developed; in 1940 it reached an output of four million yards. During the Second World War output was severely curtailed due to the restrictions in the supply of raw materials, but apart from this temporary setback, it continued to progress as a textile factory.
In 1945 Messrs J & L Goodbody LTD, jute manufacturers of Clara, Offaly, procured the business for the weaving of cotton and rayon. They made Slane Mill a subsidiary company and completed considerable extensions to the premises and had various processes installed in addition to the actual weaving. Many different types of fabric where then produced, including calicos, linings dungarees, sheets, pillowcases and other products. In 1955 a new weaving factory was built on site which held over two hundred fully automatic looms, and in 1959 a spinning mill was added, bringing the total number employed in the 1960s and 1970s to about 650.
In 1965 Messrs Ashton Bros. took over from Goodbodys. In 1967 they in turn where taken over by Courtaulds. The factory was then the only surviving one in Ireland which manufactured the raw cotton to the finished sheeting. Weaving ceased in 1978 and spinning in 1982. The rest of the company sadly dwindled out and finally closed in 1983. Since then it has been owned by The Quigley family from Dundalk, who developed various small industries on the site. These industries have gradually closed to make way for a quieter more peaceful atmosphere as the hotel is developed.
The Millhouse
The Millhouse was originally built for the manager of The Mill and later on was used to house workers at the Mill, who where brought over from England. In the early 1900s the house acted for a time as a hotel for passengers on the pleasure steamer boats which ran from Oldbridge to Navan from 1905 – 1914.
