Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB20/08/066

Address :
The Cedars 51B Riverside Antrim BT41 4BL

Townland:
Townparks

---

Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
Yes

---

OS Map No:
112 1 NE

IG Ref:
J1499 8624

---

Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Substantial two-storey house which appears to be in part, if not in whole, of pre-1832 construction, but which may have been remodeled - and possibly enlarged - c.1870. The building was abandoned in the late 20th century and is now derelict and largely obscured from view by surrounding greenery. SETTING Suburban, but surrounded by spacious, overgrown grounds. The property is set to the E of Riverside, 0.3km directly S of Antrim town centre (Church Street). The property is within Antrim Town Centre Conservation Area. GENERAL The House consists of three sections attached in linear fashion. The main – largest – section is to the S. It is a two-storey gabled block with lower two-storey rear return to the E. Joined to the N gable of this block is a lower two-storey section and attached to the N of this is a narrower portion that could not be seen, but which appears to be single-storey. The two larger blocks are finished in roughcast render and the roofs of both have been stripped of their slates with the timber roof structure exposed to the elements. There is a chimneystack to each gable. Most of the openings are boarded over except for several to the rear. FRONT (W) ELEVATION The main (S) block is three openings wide and symmetrical, with a central entrance flanked by windows to the ground floor and three windows to the first floor. The entrance has a cut-stone (limestone?) classical surround in the style of the early to mid-1700s. The lower section is also three-openings wide, with three windows to each floor S ELEVATION The S gable of the main block appears to be devoid of openings. The S side of the return appears to have a door and window to the ground floor, with at least one window to the upper level. REAR € ELEVATION This elevation is largely obscured by tree growth. To the ground floor of the main block there appear to be two windows with two to the first floor, that to left a longer stairwell window with a semicircular arched head. N ELEVATION This elevation could not be seen.

Architects

Historical Information

A building of similar, but not identical plan to that of today is shown on the OS map of 1832. Unfortunately, part of the (near) contemporary first valuation for this part of the parish of Antrim appears to be missing, so we have no details as to the dimensions of the structure at this time, nor its occupants. The 1832 map shows that the present grounds of the building were somewhat more congested than today, with another structure of similar size to the immediate south-west of the house, whilst to the north and east, along the perimeter of the current grounds, there was a road / lane, to the eastern side of which was another long building. It is possible that this entire group originally had a connection to the paper mills (established in the 1770s-80s) that stood to the west of this site, close to the nearby Six Mile Water River. On the revised OS map of 1857, the plan is shown as today, though the return (which was present in 1832) appears simply as an outline. In the second valuation of c.1860 the building is described as a vacant ‘house, offices and yard…in bad repair’ rated at a relatively respectable £12. There is no mention of land attached to the property, but the separate south-western block seems to have contained three small dwellings, with more dwellings within, the block along the road to the east, all of which suggests that the immediate vicinity of the house was more informal and less sedate than it was to become. Sometime around 1870 Rev Thomas West, then Minister of First Antrim Presbyterian church, became resident, holding the lease from the Cunningham family of nearby Belmont. In 1872 the house is recorded as having been ‘improved’ and described as having a garden, with the rateable value of the property doubling to £24. Clearly major work was carried out to the building and grounds at this time, with the long block containing the three small houses cleared away to allow for the creation of the garden and the overall gentrification of the site around the newly renovated residence. What the work to the house entailed, however, is unclear, but the leap in the valuation implies that it was extensive. From c.1878, the building seems to have witnessed a number of short-stay tenants including Gilbert James Talbot, an RIC sub-inspector, Henry Wilton, William Fausett, and Townely Ball. In c.1888 the lease was taken up by Charles McCarthy, an electrical engineer and reputedly ‘The largest contractor in Ireland’, and it is from this time that the property seems to have been given the name ‘The Cedars’. Mr McCarthy was followed by George Hurst in 1894, who was in turn succeeded by John F. Gelston, an RIC district-inspector. In the 1901 census, the Co Cavan-born Mr. Gelston is noted as residing here with his wife, Edith, their young daughter, his mother, Eliza, and two domestic servants, with the house itself recorded as a ‘1st class’ dwelling with a slate roof and 13 windows in front. By this point the house may have been tied in some way to the post of RIC district inspector, for the next person to hold this role in the area, John J. Heatley, was also – in 1906 - the next resident. He remained until his death in 1937 and in 1944 a Mr and Mrs Crinion are recorded as the occupants, W.G. McNeilly in 1948, Miss E Nicholson in 1965, and Mrs Agnes Harvey in 1966. A family named Whiteside are believed to have lived here at some point after this. The property appears to have been vacated c.1990. References – Primary sources 1 OS map 6inch County Series Co Antrim sheet - 1832, 1857, 1902, 1921, 1948; IG series 1963, 1966, 1973, 1992 2 PRONI VAL/1/B/16 First valuation, Antrim parish – c.1835 3 PRONI VAL/2/B/1/5A Second valuation, Antrim parish – c.1860 4 PRONI VAL12/B/1/1A-E Annual valuation revision books, Antrim ED – 1864-94 5 ‘Belfast Telegraph’ – 6 July 1888, p.2; 15 January 1890, p.4; 4 April 1944, p.4; 8 September 1965, p.9; 13 September 1966, p.3 7 PRONI VAL12/B/1/3A-C Annual valuation revision books, Antrim parish – 1893-1929 8 NLI Census of Ireland – 1901 (also available online) 9 ‘Belfast News-Letter’ – 10 December 1903, p.1; 24 May 1907, p.9; 27 March 1950, p.1 10 ‘Northern Whig’ – 14 May 1934, p.9; 24 April 1937, p.4; 21 October 1937, p.1 11 ‘Ireland’s Saturday Night’ – 11 September 1948, p.1

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Historic Interest

Evaluation

Relatively plain but substantial two-storey house which appears to be in part, if not in whole, of pre-1832 construction, but which may have been remodeled - and possibly enlarged - c.1872. The building was abandoned in the late 20th century and is now derelict, with its roof structure - and by extension the interior - long open to the elements. The building does not meet the criteria for listing.

General Comments

.

Date of Survey

13 June 2023