The slopes of Wolf Hill were the focus of the linen industry throughout the 19th century with a number of important works, such as the Mountain Spinning Mill and Emerson’s Spinning Mill, located along the Ligoniel and Crumlin Roads. The Ewart family owned the largest linen manufacturing company in the world by the late 19th century including Glenbank Bleachworks and Ewart’s Mill.

The concentration of linen manufacture in this area was largely due to the power and reliability of the flow of the Ligoniel River. Indeed, while many of the Belfast Spinning Mills were powered by steam by the mid-19th century, the Ballysillan and Ligoniel mills continued to use water power throughout the century and water turbines, rather than steam engines, were installed in Wolf Hill Mill.

Click here to watch documentary “Where the Hills Meet the City” where residents, past and present, talk of their experiences of Ligoniel, the mill village on the outskirts of the city, the changes the area has seen and future plans.

The ruinous mill building at Wolf Hill may have its origins in the late 18th century and it later formed part of the large mill complex of Wolf Hill Spinning Company which was operational until the 1960s. Ligoniel was once a thriving industrial area, particularly important for linen manufacture, and this building, the remnants of the adjacent bleach green and the two mill ponds are the last survivors of the works at Wolf Hill.

Glenbank House

Wolfhill Spinning & Co Ltd