Armagh City Council and preservation society should really have purchased this building and land and developed the structure for the community of Richhill. This particular building is close on 200 years old, it provided work for the local community for nearly 150 years. There's plenty of land in the area to put homes. Quite incredible how a building that goes back to the 1830s, can be left to rot. This is what happens when the wrong people are left in charge of infrastructure and preservation within Ulster. You can always build more homes anywhere in Richhill and Portadown. Absolutely amazing anything is permitted to be built here other than preserving what was here.
Last time passing and looked up they were building a housing estate . Your photograph would seem to indicate they were demolishing the last of the factory. The chimney will no doubt go as no one will want to do regular maintenance..
Are we wrong to harbour hopes that the chimney will have the same future as the one at the old Banbridge shoe factory - when the chimney and gatehouse were lovely restored.
Yes a great place. Dick Timmins was the cooper and had his tin shed. He was gradually losing out to plastic barrels that did not need repaired or opened. We got Belfast Express bus and were dropped off at bottom of hill. We were charged a tanner a cup for hot water to make our tea or coffee. Water Company got wind and threatened to charge the company pro rata for their water supply. Monday was new starters mainly from the Dole. If they turned down job were barred. You had to have medical as working with food. Wooden bar above toilet bowl so you could not get comfortable and read paper. The best group of workers ever. Was in the bulk sugar tank with another lad chipping off caked sugar when bulk delivery arrived. We were lucky someone mentioned we were inside tank. Lass was getting married was decorated and then bundled in jam bilk trolley and pushed to roll down the hill to Portadown Road. She was well hugged.
We used to go to Fruitfield to pick fruit in our summer holidays back in the 1950s A bus picked us up from the courthouse and dropped us back there .If you were good you could earn a pound a day picking strawberries which was quite a lot of money then. Gerry Moore
Armagh City Council and preservation society should really have purchased this building and land and developed the structure for the community of Richhill. This particular building is close on 200 years old, it provided work for the local community for nearly 150 years. There's plenty of land in the area to put homes. Quite incredible how a building that goes back to the 1830s, can be left to rot. This is what happens when the wrong people are left in charge of infrastructure and preservation within Ulster. You can always build more homes anywhere in Richhill and Portadown. Absolutely amazing anything is permitted to be built here other than preserving what was here.
Last time passing and looked up they were building a housing estate . Your photograph would seem to indicate they were demolishing the last of the factory. The chimney will no doubt go as no one will want to do regular maintenance..
Are we wrong to harbour hopes that the chimney will have the same future as the one at the old Banbridge shoe factory - when the chimney and gatehouse were lovely restored.
Hope so as my local Lidl when built paid for the restoration of the foundry chimney!
It would be lovely to see it reopened. My mother worked in it and used to share lovely memories of it with us.
Yes a great place. Dick Timmins was the cooper and had his tin shed. He was gradually losing out to plastic barrels that did not need repaired or opened. We got Belfast Express bus and were dropped off at bottom of hill. We were charged a tanner a cup for hot water to make our tea or coffee. Water Company got wind and threatened to charge the company pro rata for their water supply. Monday was new starters mainly from the Dole. If they turned down job were barred. You had to have medical as working with food. Wooden bar above toilet bowl so you could not get comfortable and read paper. The best group of workers ever. Was in the bulk sugar tank with another lad chipping off caked sugar when bulk delivery arrived. We were lucky someone mentioned we were inside tank. Lass was getting married was decorated and then bundled in jam bilk trolley and pushed to roll down the hill to Portadown Road. She was well hugged.
Wouldn't fancy rolling down that hill now with the amount of traffic going up and down that main road!
Was over a couple of years ago and could not believe the changes.
We used to go to Fruitfield to pick fruit in our summer holidays back in the 1950s A bus picked us up from the courthouse and dropped us back there .If you were good you could earn a pound a day picking strawberries which was quite a lot of money then. Gerry Moore
Simpler times Gerry! Back breaking work for a pound surely by todays standards.
I was injured in Fruitfield jam factory explosion in1969