Noel McMaster�s new song �Barbour Mill� set to
follow on from the success of �My Lagan softly flowing�
In a follow on to his highly successful �My
Lagan softly flowing� which topped the local charts in 1978,
Lisburn songwriter and musician Noel McMaster of Bakerloo
Junction has written some great new songs. One of them, entitled
�Barbour Mill�, recalls that 2000 employees walked, cycled and
came by bus and train answering the call of the �Barbour Mill�
horn at the Wm. Barbour & Sons Ltd., Linen Thread Works at
Hilden. It goes on to tell that with �no hackling no spinning,
the old mill now stands neglected, the bare footed doffers and
spinners all gone� and concludes �no more do they answer the
�Barbour Mill� horn�.
Noel is still busy refining his new songs. They will be featured
on Bakerloo Junction�s new CD entitled �Last Stop� which will be
released later this year. But, for former employees and our
readers here is a sneak preview of �Barbour Mill�.
Barbour Mill They came off the buses they came off the train They walked and they cycled in the wind and the rain 2000 in all through the gates they would go Answering the call of the Barbour Mill horn It�s five minutes to eight we�d better move on Got to get there by the eight o�clock horn
The old mill she stands neglected and sad The grand chimney gone leaving ghosts of the past No faces at windows no sounds from within No hackling no spinning just the sound of the wind It�s five minutes to eight we�d better move on Got to get there by the eight o�clock horn
The seasons of nature they come and they go Just like the friends that I once used to know The bare footed doffers and spinners all gone No more do they answer the Barbour Mill horn It�s five minutes to eight we�d better move on Got to get there by the eight o�clock horn
Down past the mill the Lagan she flows Where bogey men black they once wheeled the coal
To the mill where the lovely blonde ladies wait groomed Combed from the flax in the hackling room It�s five minutes to eight we�d better move on Got to get there by the eight o�clock horn
Barbour Mill threads the best ever spun Thread to be used throughout the whole world
A rainbow of colours strong yet so fine Used for to sow all manner of gown
It�s five minutes to eight we�d better move on Got to get there by the eight o�clock horn
It�s five minutes to eight no need to move on Gone is the sound of the Barbour Mill horn
Harry McKittrick�s 40 year memories of answering the call of
�Barbour Mill� horn
While researching for Noel McMaster�s new song entitled
�Barbour Mill� and taking pictures of the now closed mill, we
met Process Operator Harry McKittrick who worked at the factory
for over 40 years. He was, as the words of Noel�s new song
recalls, one of the �2000 in all� who �through the gates would
go, answering the call of the Barbour Mill horn� and who as the
chorus describes at �five minutes to eight had better move on�
as he �had got to get there by the eight o�clock horn�. Now
employed as a security officer, Harry looks after the whole
Hilden Mill site providing a daily memory of the good old days
of great craic with fellow process workers, hacklers, doffers,
bogey men and the millies that swamped the popular Lisburn
workplace for many years.
Born on 10th July 1946 to parents Tommy and the late Margaret
McKittrick of Bridge Street, Lisburn, Harry attended Hilden
Primary School, a short distance from what was to be his future
workplace. In 1962, at just 15 years of age, he commenced
employment as a Message Boy at Stewart�s Cash Store, Lisburn and
in 1964 moved to Stewarts Mill, Lisburn, which was located on
the site of where the Bow Street Mall is today. He commenced his
40 year employment at Hilden Mill on 11th October 1965 (age 19)
where he trained as a Machine Operator (later to become known as
a Process Operator) in the 3/3 Twisting Department, which was
located in the newer part of the factory.
After marrying Briege in October 1969, the couple moved to their
present home at Delacherois Avenue on the Low Road; they are
parents to daughter Karen (36) and son Graeme (34) and have
three grandchildren, the latest addition being born just a few
weeks ago.
The Twisting Department closed in 2005 and Harry was transferred
to the Dyehouse where he remained until accepting redundancy at
Easter 2006. Sadly, for Harry and many other employees, Hilden
Mill, which made Lisburn renowned around the world, closed on
Friday 26th May 2006, bringing 222 years of production to an
end. To mark the momentous occasion, the �Barbour Mill� horn,
which had been used for many years during the heyday of the
company, sounded at 12 noon as the last shift left the factory.
