Smyths Of The Bann
written by Paul McCandless

REMINISCENCES OF INDIVIDUALS

Mr Roy Forsythe

Roy Forsythe had been raised at Dandy Row in Lenaderg. He spent most of his life, in fact 40 years, in Canada and returned several years ago to Banbridge. Dandy Row is the row of houses attached to the back of Lenaderg Post Office and shop, the row having been recently renovated. He stated that two of the families living there in the 1930s were the McCoys and the Craigs.

Three generations of his family worked in Milltown mill - his father, George, was a driver and mechanic and may well have been their first lorry driver; his grandfather, also called George, worked in the chemical lab, preparing chemicals for the bleaching process, and his great-grandfather worked as a gardener at Milltown House. His grandfather lived at Smyth's Hill (once known as Crawford's Hill) in a row of houses long since demolished. Other families who lived at Smyth's Hill in the 1930s were the Andersons, Wilsons, Browns, Hagans, Orrs, Kerrs, Anthonys, Clydesdales and Glenns.

Roy related an interesting story about his father. George had been sent to 'William Ewart & Sons', Belfast for a load of yarn. Someone had flicked a cigarette into the load which, on the return journey, had started to smoulder, but of course not knowing this he continued on his journey. When nearing Lenaderg, the yarn suddenly burst into flames and was destroyed. In the early 1930s the firm had two lorries in operation.
Roy can remember playing on the back lawns of Milltown House and clearly remembered Georgina Smyth. Douglas Smyth tolerated other youngsters on the lawn as long as no damage was caused.

Roy recalled that Cedar View, which is situated just past the new Milltown Primary School, was known by locals as 'Beetlers Row.' Families who lived there in the 1930s where the Goffs, Geddises, Culls, Grahams, Luttons and Walkers. The old school had a master called Henley, known to the pupils as 'Bunter' due to the way he bounced along when he walked.

The area along this road from the Post Office to the Lurgan turn was a great courting place in the 1930s.
Near the Railway Station was a row of houses occupied in the 1930s by Minah Wilson, the Anthonys and the Kearnses, to name but a few.

At the Bann Line, in the houses built by the river's edge, lived the Dumigans and Walkers, whilst in another house close by lived the Frys, whose son accidentally drowned in the spring pond.

Mrs McMeekin

Mrs McMeekin stated that her mother Ellen Elizabeth Smyth (nee McShane), had come from Dungiven to Banbridge to look after Wilson Smyth's children (William, Teddy, Vera and Moira) at Huntly House. Ellen met her future husband, Harold Smyth, who was foreman in charge of the brown room at the Milltown works. They lived at the Bann Line. Vera Stephenson (nee Smyth) remembered Ellen as her nanny.

Mrs Sigrid Burns

Sigrid Burns (nee Bloecker) came from Germany in 1951 to Ballydown House, which is the house attached to the old Ballydown factory and is situated on the left hand side of the Ballydown Road, off the Castlewellan Road. Ballydown factory was taken over by the Smyths, Sigrid working for Teddy Smyth as a cook when he was living in Ballydown House and running the factory. There were also two other German girls working and living at the house, one of whom decided to leave her employment and was duly deported back to Germany. Sigrid worked there for nine months, until she met and married a local man named Billy Burns, after which she left Smyth employment. She now resides in Lurgan.

Mrs Jean Proctor

Although Jean never worked in the Milltown works, many members of her family were employed in the industry. Her grandfather James Fulton, who was originally from Larne, worked as a bleachgreen bundler under the late Charlie McKendry. Jean's mother, the late Cabitha Underwood, was also employed in the bleachworks, her job being to remove stains from the cloth. Two of Jean's uncles also worked at the Milltown works, one in the drying loft and the other in the wet-works.

Mrs Lily Clyde

Lily Clyde is an active 93-year-old. She recalled her father Arthur Camely's experiences as chauffeur at Brookfield House, firstly to Wilson and later William Smyth. Wilson Smyth had asked Arthur to be his chauffeur to which Arthur agreed but there was one problem, Arthur couldn't drive. However, this was soon rectified when he was instructed to go to a Mrs Sweeny in Belfast for driving lessons. The first car he drove was a Buick.

One very unforgettable experience took place in 1921. Wilson had been left at Royal County Down Golf Club earlier in the day, during which he had won a cup or trophy. Arthur had to go back to collect him that night and for company he brought one of his neighbours, Sandy Hampton. On the return journey, whilst driving around the 'horseshoe bend' near Leitrim, Castlewellan, the car was stoned and a window broken. Arthur was cut in the process and Mrs Clyde can remember getting out of bed to assist her mother in cleaning his wounds. The next day Arthur went to work and Wilson enquired what had happened to him and the car, to which Arthur intimated: "But you were there, Sir." Wilson, it seemed, had had too many alcoholic beverages and didn't remember!

Other duties Arthur undertook included collecting family members from parties at the houses of other linen lords and friends of the family.

Arthur and his wife were not from Banbridge, coming originally from Kilrea and Omagh. During the holidays the Camelys were permitted to take the car and visit their relatives. They were offered a house free of rent; No: 4 Hockley Terrace. There were two conditions attached to the offer - that they must not paint the front door any other colour than green, (green paint being used prominently on Brookfield property), and that Arthur attend church at least one Sunday in each month. Arthur belonged to Holy Trinity Church of Ireland which was a slight bone of contention as the Smyths were Presbyterians, but his attendance to the 'big Church' was duly accepted. He was supplied with one livery suit every three years, and a new suit for church every two years.

Mrs Clyde stated that the Smyths were always good to her family. She too would eventually go to work in Brookfield factory where she served her time as a weaver. She also remembered from her childhood old Mrs Smyth, the wife of William Smyth (Snr), travelling in a coach pulled by two horses and when she was coming from the town she would stop at Hockley Terrace and throw sweets to the local children.

Mrs Clyde was able to inform me who lived in Hockley Terrace around the period of the First World War. In No: 1 was John Campbell, an excellent head tenter; No: 2, the Quinns, whom she recalled kept cows and pigs; No: 3, Aggie Fleming and her nephew Sandy Hampton; No: 4, the Camleys; No: 5, Mrs McClory and her daughter Ann; No: 6, the Sterritts; No: 7, Mrs Henderson and her daughters Martha and Sarah; No: 8, Susan Dickson and her mother; No: 9, Mrs Morgan and her daughter, and at No: 10, Mr and Mrs Fitzsimmons. At the end of the row were two whitewashed cottages, which were occupied by the Rushes and a Mrs Dickson.

Mr Pringle Fleming

Pringle Fleming assisted William Smyth of Brookfield on shooting days, working William's Labrador dogs in places like Castlewellan Forest, as William was a great friend of Gerald Annesley. Pringle also drove William to most of his shoots.

Mr Jack Porter

Jack Porter was a child in the 1930s. He previously lived at Roe's Hall, Laurencetown and now lives in Cullybackey. Roe's Hall was once the home of the famous Colonel Monroe, one of the defenders of Deny during the Great Siege of 1688-1689. Colonel Monroe was buried in the vault at Seapatrick graveyard.

The following is the statement given to me by Jack which is very interesting, again giving a different view of early life around Milltown:

"As a child I attended Milltown Public Elementary School. The school was a composite part of the large Milltown bleachworks owned by Douglas Smyth. It served the local children whose parents resided in the factory houses and worked in the bleachworks with the exception of two to three farming families. It was really a training facility for the bleachworks. More than once I heard the teacher tell a wayward pupil: 'I will tell Mr Smyth and you won't get a job in the bleachworks.'

The works supplied the electric light, coal, etc for the school which also had its own vegetable garden worked by the pupils. The senior boys cleaned the windows. The three teachers in my day were John Thompson, Miss Marion Smyth (buried in Tullylish Presbyterian graveyard) and Miss May Craig, and they all taught in the one room. Mrs Martin of the Post Office supplied the textbooks, etc at a small charge to each pupil.

Milltown had its own silver band, which met in the school at least in the latter years.

Douglas Smyth was at this time working for 'Ewarts' of Belfast and was driven each day to work by his chauffeur Andy McMullan.

Mr Kelso was Resident Manager of the bleachworks.

Across the river were two large fields, which was the bleachgreen, where the long webs of linen were spread by hand from the back of a horse-drawn linen cart.

My father, Joseph Porter of Roe's Hall, had the use of these two bleachgreens where he grazed sheep to keep the grass short for the bleaching purpose, on an alternate system of sheep and bleaching. The sheep had to be moved at short notice and it was my delight to be called out of school to help.

The local foundry was owned and run by the Geoghegan family of Banford who supplied castings for the various linen concerns in the area. Puddle clay used in the moulding of castings was obtained in Millpark, about two miles away, and a donkey and cart used to transport the clay and sometimes to deliver a new wheel to a local mill or factory.

There was a large area of land owned by the works, some of which was let to neighbouring farmers.

A small staff was employed for maintenance, etc, a few I can remember were Charlie Walker, the foreman; Billy Kerr, the horseman, and Sammy Cairns (incidentally, Sammy also worked in the gardens of Milltown).
In those days Milltown seemed a thriving community, nevertheless it was in decline, for not many years later the works closed down and were demolished when the 'wreckers' moved in. The only relic of the past is Lenaderg Shop, still owned by Roy Martin, and the derelict school which was burnt some years back."