Sion Mills

Sion Mills is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on the River Mourne. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,050 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area. It is a pleasant tree-lined industrial village and designated conservation area, particularly rich in architectural heritage.

History

Sion Mills was laid out as a model linen village by the Herdman brothers, James, John and George. In 1835 they converted an old flour mill on the River Mourne into a flax spinning mill, and erected a bigger mill behind it in the 1850s. Nearly everything in Sion Mills was designed by James Herdman's son in law, the English architect William Unsworth. Sion House, a half timbered Elizabethan style mansion, was planned by Unsworth at the same time as he was designing the first Shakespeare memorial theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, destroyed by a fire in 1926. More modest half timbered buildings include the gatehouse, the recreation hall and Old St. Saviour's church. Unsworth based his design for the polychrome Anglican church, the Church of the Good Shepherd, (1909) on a church in Pistoia in Tuscany. By contrast the modern Catholic church of St Teresa (1963 by Patrick Haughey) is admirable for its severely plain lines - a long rectangle with a striking representation of the Last Supper on the slate facade. Oisín Kelly was the artist.

Sport

Sion Mills has a very strong cricket tradition and was the venue for a celebrated moment in cricket history when the Irish team beat a West Indian touring team in July 1969.

Transport

*Sion Mills railway station opened on 9 May 1852 and finally closed on 15 February 1965. [cite web | title=Sion Mills station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-11-24]

2001 Census

Sion Mills is classified as a village by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,050 people living in Sion Mills. Of these:
*25.7% were aged under 16 years and 16.3% were aged 60 and over
*49.4% of the population were male and 50.6% were female
*61.6% were from a Catholic background and 37.8% were from a Protestant background
*4.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

References

* [http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/ Discover Northern Ireland]
* [http://www.countytyrone.com/ County Tyrone.com]
* [http://www.strabanedc.org.uk/leisure_and_tourism/tour_the_district/ Strabane District Council]
* [http://www.sionmills.org/ Sion Mills Buildings Preservation Trust]

See also

*List of villages in Northern Ireland
*List of towns in Northern Ireland