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Paper Making at Ballymagart
by Dorothea Nicholson

Rags make paper,
Paper makes money,
Money makes banks,
Banks make loans,
Loans make beggars,
Beggars make Rags.
Anon, l8th.C.

Ballymagart Mills are situated in a valley to the west of Ballyardel Road; near the White Water River (Grid Reference J 277143). They are reached by a lane which in earlier days resounded to the rattle of horses and carts bringing flax to be scutched, and grain to be ground. In still earlier days, the carts' contents would have been quite different. Probably there would have been bundles of rags of all colours and shapes, for then Ballymagart was the site of a paper mill, the only one in Mourne.
 

Paper Making

Undoubtedly the first paper makers were wasps. These small insects, without the use of any equipment, nibble at raw wood and transform it, through their digestive processes, into a paste-like substance resembling paper, and use it to make their nests. The first successful human attempt to manufacture something resembling paper was made in ancient Egypt using papyrus. Paper making, as we would recognise it now however, is said to have been mastered by Ts'ai Lun. a Chinese court official, in 105 AD.

Cellulose is the basic material for making paper. All natural plant materials contain it in varying amounts; cotton contains almost 100% cellulose. In the early days of paper making, its main source was rags, of linen or cotton. An abundant supply of clean water was also essential. In the paper mill, the rags were sorted according to colour and material, and objects such as buttons and fastenings removed. The rags were then cut into suitably sized pieces, and soaked with water and allowed to ferment for some time. When rotted sufficiently, the rags were then placed in troughs, and beaten into a pulp by wooden stampers with rough iron teeth or spikes at their tips. The stampers were lifted and let fall by the passage of a camshaft, usually a continuation of a shaft from the waterwheel which powered the mill. Water was allowed to run into the troughs and this cleansed the rags; the dirty water flowed out through holes at the side of the troughs, woven horsehair screens preventing the material escaping as well.'

A second pounding took place in another trough into which fresh water was added. In a third trough, where the stampers beat the 'half stuff' as the pulp was now called, no water was added in case the pulp would be lost through the strainers. The third set of stampers was made from plain wood without metal facings. With the development of the Hollander in the 1600s, the rotting of the rags ceased in some mills, and the pounding process was accelerated through the action of metal blades which macerated the rags. By now the rags, reduced to a porridge-like consistency, were transferred to vats, some of which were originally huge oak wine casks. A pole, with a perforated wooden disc at its tip, agitated the pulp to keep it from settling out. In later times this was replaced with a mechanical paddle wheel, or 'hog'.

From here, the vat man lifted some of the pulp on a wire-mesh mould, the top of which was framed by a deckle which acted as a fence to keep the pulp in shape. He gave it a two-way rolling shake to 'throw off the wave', thereby distributing the pulp evenly over the mould and intertwining the short fibres of the pulp. A watermark could be created by sewing a wire shape into the sieve of the mould. This created a thinner layer of pulp, which when held up to the light, appeared as a transparent image.

Having removed the deckle, the vat man passed the mould to the coucher who inverted what was now damp paper onto a damp woollen felt. There were two moulds and one deckle to each vat, so allowing the vat man to form the next sheet whilst the coucher removed the other. Having done this, another felt was placed over, and the process repeated. The process of dipping and couching continued until a pile or 'post' had been made. This usually consisted of six quires, or 144 sheets, and was put into a screw lever press and as much water as possible squeezed out.

A layman then removed the pressed sheets from the felts. The paper had then to be dried, one of the most important operations of the process. The sheets were hung in 'spurs' of four or five sheets (single sheets would have wrinkled) over lines of rope covered with horse or cow hair to prevent staining the paper. Sliding wooden shutters would be been opened in the walls to allow air to circulate around the sheets. If to be used for writing paper, the dry sheets would then be sized by being drawn through a solution of gelatine, then re-dried, surfaced by a pressing hammer (later replaced by wooden glazing rolls), and packed. Other uses of paper included wall papers, linen wrapping paper (blue paper), and ordinary brown wrapping paper.

The demands for rags was intense in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. To save linen and cotton rags, Parliament decreed in 1666 that only wool was to be used for burying the dead; in one year 200,000 lbs of linen and cotton were thus saved. As late as 1855, when rags were scarce during the American Civil War, Augustus Stainwood  imported shiploads of Egyptian mummies to his mills in Maine; each had some 300 yards of linen around them.

There were many experiments, using all kinds of substances, to find a cheap and readily available substitute for the costly rags. All kinds of substitutes were tested: cabbage leaves, thistles, straw, bog grass, even potatoes. It seems strange to us that no one thought of using wood However, it was only with the invention of Keller's wood grinding machine in 1840 that its use was feasible. Within a very short time, wood was being used everywhere for making paper; not only did it replace rags, but also increased the scope and variety of papers available.

Ballymagart Paper Mill

In Bradshaw's Directory of 1819, the following men are described as paper makers at "White River" - Bernard McCullough. Owen Lappin, Bernard Galagher, Michael Hogan; William Clark Emerson is listed as "paper manufacturer". It would thus seem that paper making was in progress in the earlier part of the 19th century at Ballymagart. Life in the mill would have been anything but easy. Work probably began at 6am, ending at 6pm. The mill would have been cold, the lighting poor, and the atmosphere damp and gloomy. Great physical endurance was needed to form the sheets on the mould. The work was often monotonous and the apprenticeship long. It is said that the old paper makers could readily be distinguished by their red muscular arms and hands, and sloping backs.

By 1834, Ballymagart mill belonged to Alex McDonald, but is described as being "five years out of use"; a scutch mill seems to have been established shortly afterwards. In 1853, the property was on the market in an Encumbered Sale. Amongst the property's details is the following:

Upon the lands and premises there are now erected and standing, a corn-mill with three pairs of stones, good machinery of the most modern construction, an excellent kiln and ample storage for carrying on an extensive trade, the whole erected in 1846. The Water Wheel is 24 feet in diameter, 6 feet broad, having a fall of 20 feet, and well supplied with water in the driest seasons. The Water Wheel and principal part of the buildings being originally Intended for a different business, is well adapted for a Spinning mill, Bleach mill, Paper mill, or any business requiring a supply of pure water, either river or spring; the dwelling houses and office-houses are fit for the reception of a respectable family.

Although it would appear that the site was suited to paper making, later documentation indicates that no further paper making ever took place, only flax scutching and corn milling occurring thereafter. It is as corn and flax mills that the complex as we now know it appears. The wheel referred to above, and which powers the cornmill, has on it the inscription "1837 Alex McDonell". As this is sometime after the cessation of paper making, the "different business" referred to need not necessarily have been paper manufacture. Indeed, nothing of the original paper mill appears to have survived, a careful survey of the site suggesting that these later buildings were erected more or less on the exact spot of the former paper mill.

Subsidy Roll Down for 1663

http://www.raymondscountydownwebsite.com

The Lordship of Newry And Mourne Roll

(The (P)? opposite the name indicates Protestant)

The Belfast Newsletter Index Database Search Page, 1737 to 1800

http://www.raymondscountydownwebsite.com

28 Documents Retrieved
Displaying documents 1 -10

1796 - As part of a government initiative to encourage the linen trade, free spinning wheels or looms were granted to individuals planting a certain area of land with flax. The lists of those entitled to the awards were published in 1796 and a copy of the list with a surname index of the spinning wheel entitlement is available at the Public Record Office Northern Ireland

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS
Catherine Hudson
Christmas as we know it today has changed out of all recognition from years gone by when restricted incomes and very simple lifestyles were the order of the day. Most of the old customs and superstitions associated with that time of year have gone and it is difficult to understand how some of them originated. One can only surmise that living, as so many did, in isolated areas with little outside influence, every little thing that occurred would be noted and, that over a period of time, a series of happenings or coincidences would be associated with previous events and so myth became reality.
Christmas fare
For good luck and good fortune in the coming year it was recommended that herrings, fresh or salted, be eaten as the first meal on Christmas Day. So when people returned from midnight Mass or church service they would have a meal of fish, salt and potatoes or a pig’s head and bacon.
The Goose was the traditional Christmas fare or, if less well-off, a chicken was substituted. Turkeys were introduced in the 17th century but were for a long time restricted to the ‘gentry’. Towards the end of the 18th century both turkeys and geese sold for about one shilling and ducks and chickens for a few pence.
Tea was expensive and a rare luxury, and so was a special treat at Christmas. For those who could afford mince pies, it was the tradition to eat a pie each day for the 12 days of Christmas. It was believed this would help ward off illness in the coming year. The Christmas pudding was not like today’s plum pudding but was made from potatoes and bread and was boiled in a cloth (usually cut from a flour bag) suspended in a cooking pot over an open fire. It was also usual to give the animals extra food at Christmas.
One of the nicest of the old customs was that of ‘leaving the door on the latch’ when neighbours and travellers could feel free to call and share the food and drink, however meagre. Rhymers or Strawboys travelled around from house to house performing short plays or dancing and the pennies they collected were used for charity.
Christmas candles
A lovely old custom which has not entirely died out is the placing of a lighted candle in the window. The first two lines from a 1920 poem read: “She set her lighted candle inside the window pane, the happy time of Christmas had come to earth again”.
The biggest candle that the family could afford was lit with great ceremony late on Christmas Eve, the oldest and the youngest members of the family holding the lighted taper. This custom is thought to have originated in Ireland in the 17th century. Imagine the scene, in the days before electricity, of a village or even a small rural community, its windows all aglow with flickering candles welcoming not only the birthday of Christ but, in a practical way, the footsore weary traveller or homecomer. When the Famine led to mass emigration this custom was taken to America where it became very popular.
 

Customs connected with the candle varied from place to place but generally it was not extinguished until dawn. It was thought to bring great luck to have breakfast on Christmas Day by its light. In some places the candle was lit each evening over the 12 days of Christmas. On the night of 6 January a tin lid was filled with sand and 12 small candles arranged in a circle. They were lit before the evening meal and allowed to burn out. When they did, Christmas was over and everyone said, “May we all be alive and well this time next year”.
The crib
Another surviving custom is the placing in homes and churches of figures representing Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, and the shepherds and animals in the stable at Bethlehem. The first crib in the 13th century was the idea of St Francis of Assisi when he used real people and animals to represent the scene. Since then, the crib, with its figures made from china, plaster, wood or even cardboardis frequently displayed. The figures of the three Kings or Wise Men are added to the others on the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January. This is also known as Old Christmas Day as this was the day on which Christmas was held before the calendar was changed. It was also called in Gaelic Nolisig na mBan as it was a special day for women. The woman of the house was waited on by the family as a reward for all the hard work she had done before and during Christmas.
Christmas boxes, cards, trees and decorations
Until the 1950s and before the advent of the supermarket, it was customary for family grocers to reward their customers with a ‘Christmas box’. This was sometimes a small hamper containing a large candle, an iced cake or biscuits. Most businesses routinely gave customers a calendar; this usually had a pouch on the front in which to keep letters. If the picture on the calendar was a pretty one, as it very often was, it would be kept safely and put in a simple frame to adorn the wall.
Christmas cards were first published in 1843 by an artist called Horseley. However, they were rarely sent or received, except by wealthy families, until well into the present century as they were much too expensive for common use. They were very often in the form of postcards.
The Christmas tree is a relatively new custom which was imported from Germany and Scandinavia. Yet it is said that, as far back as 900 AD, a group of Irish monks on a bleak mountainside in Alsace, feeling homesick and lonely one Christmas time, decorated a tree underneath which they sang hymns.
Great superstitions by pagans in ancient times were attached to both holly and ivy but these were later adopted by Christians for use at Christmas - the prickly holly as a symbol of Christ’s suffering and the red berries as a reminder of the blood he shed. It was also said that to hang up mistletoe brought happiness and good fortune - provided it did not touch the ground.
Animals
It was believed that the donkey and oxen knelt in their stables at midnight on Christmas Eve. This was thought to originate from the fact that it was a donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem and the breath of the ox and donkey that kept the Infant warm. It was also believed that the cock crowed each night for three weeks before Christmas. This must have been believed centuries ago as Shakespeare writes in Hamlet “Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long’.
If the cock crowed at midnight on Christmas Eve it was thought to be a very good omen. Bees are also believed to wake from hibernation at Christmas and hum or sing in celebration.
Old sayings and beliefs
A very old custom more common in Antrim and Kerry was of playing hurley with improvised sticks, barefoot on the sand.
The day on which Christmas falls was deemed to be of significance. If it fell on a Sunday it signified a windy winter and a good summer with peace throughout the land. Monday and especially Tuesday were not considered good days for it to fall. Wednesday meant a hard winter and good summer, but a bad year for ships. Thursday and Friday also foretold hard and windy winters but good summers and harvests. Saturday signified a severe winter and wet summer. Frost and snow at Christmas were welcomed as they were thought to be the sign of a mild spring. A new moon on Christmas Eve was also considered lucky. Old sayings include:
• A green Christmas fills the Churchyard.
• When the blackbird sings before Christmas, she will cry at Candlemas.
• If ducks can swim at Halloween, at Christmas they will slide.