A demonstration of traditional corn threshing drew large crows throughout the day at Castlewellan Show 2024.
The centre piece of the ‘action’ was a fully restored – and fully operative – 1942 Allan Threshing Mill.
This unique machine had been imported into Belfast by the Harry Ferguson company on behalf of the Gill family, from Ardglass in Co. Down. The original purchase price was £600.
The threshing mill has been retained in the east Down area for the past 82 years. It was drawn from Belfast to Ardglass, a journey of some 30 miles, by an Austin A16 car.
The threshing mill was restored by Michael McKibben almost 20 years ago on behalf of the Seaforde Working Vintage Club.
He commented:
“The machine weighs approximately 4½t. It’s the kind of threshing mill that was commonly used in the east Down area right up t the 1960s. After that, combines harvesters, as we know them today, started to take over.”
The machine is stored at McKibben’s own farm. For the purposes of the Castlewellan demonstration, Michale and his colleagues used oats that had been cut and stored from last year last.
The crop is fed into the machine at the top with the threshed grain deposited in bags at the front of the mill. The straw drops through the machine and falls to the ground below it.
The power for the threshing system was provided by a 1956 registered Fordson Major tractor, which was connected to the mill by a belting system.
Allan Brothers of Aberdeen manufactured threshing mills for many years: they first exhibited at the Highland Show of 1931.
“She’s brought out three to four times in the year. The mill can thresh crops of wheat, barley and oats.
“The original Canadian pine, which was used in the construction of the threshing mill, is all there. The biggest challenge is keeping wood worm at bay,” McKibben said.
This year’s threshing display at Castlewellan was hosted jointly by members of Seaforde and nearby Claragh Bridge vintage clubs.
The straw dropping from the Allan mill was picked up manually with hay forks and then fed into a static Jones’ baler.
Patrick Murray, from Claragh Bridge explained:
“The machine produces a 22 inch by 18 inch bale weight approximately 25kg. The bales are tied by hand, which needs a fair degree of skill. Jones’ balers were imported from Wales.
“They were very popular in this part of the world right up to the 1970s when the tractor-mounted balers started to take over.”
