Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB25/07/002 B

Address :
Gate Lodge and Gate Screen Roselawn Cemetery and Crematorium 127 Ballygowan Road Belfast County Antrim BT5 7TZ

Townland:
Slatady

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
05/04/2013 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Gates/ Screens/ Lodges

Former Use
Gates/ Screens/ Lodges

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
147/11

IG Ref:
J3884 7015

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Owner Category

Local Govt

Exterior Description And Setting

A two-storey gate-lodge incorporated into the gate screen erected as part of the Roselawn cemetery built completed in 1954. Square plan form with adjoining single-storey flat roof abutments. Located within a large enclosed site on the east side of Ballygowan Road, northwest of Crossnacreevy. Gate lodge: Sprocketed pitched natural slate roof ; clay ridge tiles; timber fascia and barge boards; uPVC replacement rainwater goods. Red-brick chimney. Red-brick walling laid to stretcher bond. Replacement uPVC windows with masonry cills and soldier course lintel. Replacement panelled timber front door with concrete canopy incorporated in to the gate screen with wedge shaped supporting concrete fin to the right. The principal elevation faces east and is asymmetrically arranged and recessed into the gate screen. Door to the left with three diminished vertical windows with projected concrete surrounds, to the right. The left gable is asymmetrically arranged. Projected chimneystack braking through the gable apex. Single-storey flat-roofed abuttment comprising a single large window to the left and a smaller window to the right in the south façade, left and right cheeks are blank. The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged. Single ground foor window to the left. Three varying windows to the first floor. Single-storey ground floor abutment to the left. The right gable is asymmetrically arranged. Single ground floor window. View partially obscured by adjoining gate screen to the left. Roofing: Natural Slatte Walling: Red-brick Windows: uPVC Replacement RWG: uPVC Replacement Gate Screen: Red-brick screen laid to Flemish bond with concrete coping projected concrete plinth course. Three geometrical metal gates, two of which are symmetrically arranged vehicular gates centrally positioned; further pedestrian gate to the far right of the adjoining gate lodge. Carved stone depicting Belfast city council crest centrally position on wall between vehicular gates with individually fixed lettering reading “BELFAST CITY COUNCIL” “ROSELAWN CEMETERY AND CREMATORIUM”. The walls has been rebuilt left of the gate c.1990 following the destruction of a second gate-lodge. Further left is a bus shelter incorporated into the screen comprising an inclined concrete canopy supported by two slender steel columns. Setting: The screen gates and gate lodge are located at the entrance to the cemetery, directly adjacent the main road. Beyond the entrance is a network of road accessing various section of the complex, the landscape of which primarily comprises landscaped areas of grass, flower beds and trees beyond. Opposite the gate screens is open rural landscape.

Architects

Historical Information

The gatescreen and gatelodge at Roselawn Cemetery were designed in 1952 and completed in time for the opening of the cemetery in 1954. There were originally two gate houses at the entrance each with living room, sitting room, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom and WC. The cost of these and other structures on the site was £33,000. The entrance gates and boundary wall cost £6,900. The second gate house was destroyed in a bomb explosion in 1987. (Scott; Roselawn papers) As burial space at Belfast City and Dundonald Cemeteries began to diminish. Belfast Council was forced to look outside the city boundaries and eventually bought land at Crossnacreevy and Slatady from Down County Council in 1952, with the intention of establishing a crematorium in addition to a graveyard. By the early fifties 15% of burials in Britain were of cremated ashes and opposition to the idea of cremation was falling away in Northern Ireland. (Roselawn Cemetery papers; Cremation Society of GB) The site was laid out as a ‘lawn’ cemetery. Unlike the city’s older cemeteries there were to be no ‘pillars, railings, hoops etc’ to enclose graves, with only a limited area at the head of each grave set aside for a headstone and planting. “The cemetery will therefore have the appearance of a large lawn interspersed with headstones and consequently will be maintained in good order more economically than the existing cemeteries” Roses were planted along the main driveway, giving the site its name. (Roselawn Cemetery papers) In 1952 plans were drawn up for two gate houses at the entrance each with living room, sitting room, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom and WC. The cost of these and other structures on the site was £33,000. The entrance gates and boundary wall cost £6,900 and the avenues and paths £135,100 with coloured flags supplied by Grainger Brothers of Holywood at a cost of £1,400.The 106-acre site was to provide 75,000 grave plots, to be developed in stages with 4,000 plots released in the initial phase. As the cemetery neared completion, Dundonald Cemetery was forced to close to new burials and Roselawn had to open earlier than intended before permanent offices and lavatories had been completed. (Roselawn Cemetery papers) The land was dedicated in a ceremony that took place on Thursday 6th April 1954 with representatives from the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist churches officiating. (Roselawn Cemetery papers) Although designs, by city architect J H Swann, for the new crematorium were prepared as early as 1956 the building was not completed and officially opened until 10th May 1961. As the first crematorium in Ireland it was the subject of considerable interest from the media and other organisations. (Roselawn Cemetery papers) The building cost approximately £100,000 to build and was on two floors, the basement comprising the committal chamber, furnace room, coffin store, fan room and electrical switch gear. At ground level were the vestibule, main chapel, chapel of rest, waiting rooms, toilets, Book of Remembrance, wreath display area, staff dining room, music room, minister’s room, administrative offices and an enclosed yard for the storage of garden tools and equipment. (Roselawn Cemetery papers) The first cremation took place in July 1961 and it was expected that the facility would deal with about 700 bodies a year. In 1963 the Catholic church lifted the ban on cremation for catholics. Nevertheless there was no crematorium in the Republic of Ireland until 1982 and Roselawn remains one of only three crematoria on the island of Ireland, and the only crematorium in the province. (Irish Times) In 1979, the cemetery was extended by 17 acres and further land has been added over the years as pressure on space increases. The site has gradually been landscaped and now includes a number of lakes and water features. In March 1987 an explosion at the gate to the cemetery resulted in extensive damage to one of the gate houses, which has since been removed. (Scott) Among those buried in Roselawn Cemetery are Northern Ireland footballer George Best (1946-2005) and Unionist MP James Kilfedder (1928-1995). The site also contains graves connected to the Troubles, including those of police and prison officers, soldiers and victims of the Abercorn Restaurant, Oxford Street and La Mon House Hotel bombings. (www.belfastcity.gov.uk) References: Primary Sources 1. PRONI LA/7/3/E/18/7 – File relating to Roselawn Cemetery (1951-55) 2. PRONI LA/7 29CB/58- Contract with Dawson & Mason Ltd for supply of cremator (1957-8) 3. PRONI LA/7/29CB/59 – Contract with Samuel Ross Ltd for erection of crematorium (1957-9) 4. PRONI LA/7/3/E/18/8 – Parks and Cemeteries Committee – opening of crematorium (1961) 5. PRONI VAL/3/C/4/10 – First General Revaluation (1936-57) 6. PRONI VAL/3/D/4/4/H/8 – First General Revaluation Valuers’ Notebook (1933-57) 7. PRONI VAL/4/B/3/27 – Second General Revaluation (1956-72) 8. Irish Times, 2nd May 1933 9. Irish Times, 2nd November 1938 10. Irish Times, 14th January 1948 11. Irish Times, 23rd April 1955 12. Irish Times, 12th May 1954 13. Irish Times, 26th January 1959 14. Irish Times, 6th June 1964 15. Irish Times, 13th March 1982 Secondary Sources 1. Scott, R “A Breath of Fresh Air, The Story of Belfast’s Parks” Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2000 2. The Cremation Society of Great Britain website (http://www.srgw.demon.co.uk/CremSoc) 3. www.belfastcity.org.uk

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity V. Authorship X. Local Interest Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A two-storey gate-lodge, incorporated into the gate screen erected as part of the Roselawn cemetery, (1954). A set piece of civic architecture and landscaping, designed specifically for its purpose with a form and detailing distinctly from that mid-twentieth century period. These structures contribute to the significant architectural group comprised of similarly modern structures within the graveyard, the Crematorium Building (HB25/07/002A) and Toilet Block, Porter's Lounge, Concrete Gazebo (HB25/07002C).

General Comments

Please note this record has been renumbered it was previously recorded as HB25/07/002

Date of Survey

05 August 2011