This former mill later took on a very different role during The Troubles, when it was repurposed as an army base. At the height of its use, it was reportedly one of the busiest heliports in Europe, with constant aircraft movements day and night. When the military finally withdrew in 2007, the site was left abandoned — and it has remained that way ever since.

Even during its years as an active base, stories of unexplained activity were already circulating among personnel. Since its closure, those reports have only increased.

One of the most intriguing accounts comes from a local photographer, John Davis, who captured something unusual while photographing the site. While reviewing his images in 2022, he noticed what appeared to be a disembodied human face suspended in mid-air. The image had originally been taken while he was documenting a strange fluorescent light that had been appearing intermittently in one of the mill’s windows for over a decade. It was only on closer inspection that the facial features seemed to emerge — something he had not noticed at the time the photograph was taken.

Earlier still, during the late 1990s when the mill was actively used as an army barracks, a soldier reportedly captured a photograph inside the old weaver’s shed — a space then used to house military vehicles. The image appears to show a shadowy, human-shaped figure forming within the room. John Davis, who was later shown the photograph, described the figure as resembling “a man walking across the room with his head bowed and his hands tucked into his pockets — almost as if he were wearing a coat.”

Whether these images represent pareidolia, environmental anomalies, or something far harder to explain, the former mill has earned a reputation as a place where the past refuses to remain silent.