The 2010 Project (with permission) to document the Barbour Threads / Hilden Mill site. The project concluded with an exhibition entitled 'Through the Mill' at the Island Arts Centre.
'Through the Mill, a series of thought-provoking images by local photographer David Cleland, captures a living history of aspects of Lisburn’s industrial past.
A two hundred year story ended in 2006 with the closure of Hilden Mill – ‘Through the Mill’, a final chapter, offers us a unique opportunity to see the mill as it is now and a chance to imagine something of the lives of generations of mill workers. The images challenge us to consider our heritage – what has gone before, what will never return, what is our legacy, and what will become of an architectural and industrial landmark on our doorstep?
This series transcends location, with its images capturing urban decay, the natural world and the minutiae of our daily routine, challenging us to consider the supposed silence of the past and our place in the present’.
The exhibition ran from Wednesday 13th October - Saturday 23rd October 2010.
About Hilden Mill
Hilden Mill, a 24-acre former factory site on the outskirts of Lisburn city, overlooks the River Lagan. Originally a linen bleaching green, the site was acquired in 1823 by industrialist William Barbour, whose father had emigrated from Scotland around 40 years earlier to start a linen thread business in Lisburn.
William Barbour established a water-powered mill at Hilden, laying the groundwork for what would become one of the world's largest linen thread manufacturers. Over the decades, the Barbours employed thousands at Hilden and developed a model village for their workers, including hundreds of homes and schools.
The Mill closed in 2006, the site was documented in 2010 and sadly remains in disrepair.