Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB23/18/027

Address :
Farmhill 41 Farmhill Road Cultra Holywood BT18 0AD

Townland:
Ballycultra

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
01/11/1988 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
114/16

IG Ref:
J4079 8007

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A five-bay, two storey with attic symmetrically designed mid-Georgian house; built c.1740 with alterations c.1870; located to the east of Farmhill Road on a slope overlooking Belfast Lough. Rectangular-on-plan with single storey extension at east having conservatory at rear; conservatory at west with attached annexe abutted by garage. Pitched natural slate roof with stone verges and black/blue slate ridge tiles. Simple painted render chimneys with plinth and terracotta pots. Profiled cast-iron rainwater goods on moulded masonry eaves. Walling is painted smooth render with raised quoins and plinth; continuous sill course to first floor. Windows to north elevation are 1/1 timber-framed sliding sash in lugged moulded surrounds with keyblock detail; twin windows in projecting ground floor bays with Doric pilasters to jambs and mullions; entablature topped by lead-flashing. Three modern skylights to roof. Fenestration to rear elevation is complex and will be described below. Principal elevation faces north and is five openings wide to first floor; ground floor with central bolection-moulded four-panelled door with plain transom light, moulded Doric pilasters, and entablature; flanked by projecting bay windows. Abutted to east by a recessed single-storey extension with uPVC door, windows and skylight; abutted to right by uPVC conservatory, which in turn is abutted to rear by annexe and garage. The east elevation is concealed by trees. The south (rear) elevation has asymmetrical fenestration; comprising central bay with tall round-headed stairwell window with lunette above and below. Bays to left and right contain a variety of 6/6 sash windows; uPVC door to right. Roof with four modern skylights. Timber conservatory abuts single storey extension to right. The west gable has two uPVC windows to second floor and 1/1 sliding sash window to left at first floor. Setting The original grounds were once substantial, now comprising a small housing development to north and two individual properties to the east. Farmhill retains a large mature garden to north and a contained yard and landscaped garden to the rear. Gravelled drive to SW accessed via entrance comprising traditional cast-iron gate on painted masonry piers with stone caps. Roof: Natural slate Walling: render Windows: timber RWG: cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Merrick suggests that there has been a farm on this site since the early seventeenth century, the original house now a ‘mews cottage’. The main house, he suggests, ‘has many features which suggest a date of about 1730-40’. (Merrick, p.19) This appears to be supported by the Valuer's notes of 1935. Nothing is known of the early owners, but the house is listed in the Townland Valuation (1826-40) as the property of Joseph McCartney, a house and offices, valued at £27.3s. It is also shown, captioned ‘Farm Hill’ on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834. The McCartney family seem to have disposed of both leisure and means. A letter of 7 October 1840 from John Sinclaire of Ballantrae to George McCartney at Farm Hill anticipates a visit from him for hunting game, “I hope you have a good dog as nothing else will do here the birds of every kind are so shy” and Joseph McCartney’s son was educated at St Paul’s school in London. An 1867 Maritime Directory lists a Joseph McCartney of Bangor, Down as a shipowner. In Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) the house is occupied by Henry N Smyth, attorney, and leased from the representatives of Robert J Kennedy. It is a house, offices, lawn and garden valued at £25. The valuer remarks, “A very old and infirm house, expensive to keep in repair. Good situation.” The dimensions are given for the house and five outbuildings. (Brett, p.194) By 1863 Alexander Mitchell is listed as the occupier of the main house, although the property is now listed as two separate residences, one of which is possibly the mews cottage. Mitchell (1780–1868), was a civil engineer born in Dublin. He studied at the Royal Belfast Academy and in 1800 started a business in Belfast as a brick manufacturer and builder. He became totally blind at the age of twenty-three, having as a child contracted smallpox, which led to amaurosis, a disease of the optic nerve. He retired from the business in 1832, having invented a number of machines to improve the manufacturing processes. He is best remembered for his invention, in 1833, of the screw-pile and screw-mooring systems to provide foundations for lighthouses and beacons on mud or sandbanks and for mooring ships. He patented his inventions and set up a company in Belfast and London called “Mitchell’s Screw-pile and Mooring Company”. The screw-pile was first used in the foundations of the Maplin Sands lighthouse and then in Fleetwood lighthouse which was designed and constructed by Mitchell. He placed one in Carrickfergus Bay (1844), a jetty on the Wexford Coast (1847) and lighthouses in Dundalk Bay (1849) and near Cobh in Cork harbour (1852). The screw-pile eventually aided the spread of fashionable seaside piers in British coastal resorts, the first to use Mitchell’s system being Margate (1853-6). Mitchell lived at Farm Hill following the death of his daughter Mary but died at Glen Divis near Belfast. (www.oxforddnb.com) At the time of Mitchell’s residence in the house, the Greenfield family became lessors of the property. By 1880 Henry M Charley was in residence. No details remain of Henry but other members of the Charley family appear to have been in shipping. In 1887 Thomas Greenfield took over possession. Brett states that the grandparents of Tony Merrick, local historian, lived in the house from 1909 to 1914. (Brett, p.194) After 1933 the house is occupied by Edmund Graham and leased from John Crosbie Smith (change undated.). It is a house, offices and garden, the lawn has now been deleted. It is initially valued at £32, raised to £55 and then dropped to £48 on appeal. The accommodation comprises 2 receptions, office, kitchen, scullery, pantry and on the first floor, three bedrooms and two dressing rooms with a bathroom, WC and 2 attics above. The house uses gas and is supplied with water from a well with pump. The valuer comments, “Large, old-fashioned, inconvenient. Good situation, nice view. Large kitchen garden. No agricultural land”. A plan and dimensions are given. After an appeal in 1935 the valuer comments, “In order to secure rent of £50 landlord had to install electricity and repaper and paint throughout. Paper had to be put on asbestos sheeting as there is no damp course in walls and paper would not hold otherwise. House is said to be 200 years old...The bedrooms in some cases are inter-communicating with no other means of access. The offices are extensive and only about half are in use. There is no range and water supply is said to be unreliable.” In 1939 the house was occupied by William S Atkinson and some improvements were made leading to a revaluation of £50. An extension was added to the north facade, and a conservatory was added to the rear. It appears that the porch and bay windows on the first floor were also altered at this time. The plan of alterations also shows a motor house and a greenhouse on the southern facade. Brett states that the house was considerably restored in the 1990s by Dr Nixon and has changed hands several times since. (Brett, p.194) References Primary Sources 1.PRONI OS/6/3/1/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834 2.PRONI OS/6/3/1/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858 3.PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02 4.PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31 5.PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41 6.PRONI D1405/55A – Letter from John Sinclaire to George McCartney (7th October 1840) 7.PRONI VAL/1/A/3/1 – Townland Valuation Map (1828-40) 8.PRONI VAL/1/B/318 – Townland Valuation (1828-40) 9.PRONI VAL/2/B/3/1 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64) 10.PRONI VAL/2/B/3/18B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) 11.PRONI VAL/12/B/17/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1867-1930) 12.PRONI VAL/12/B/17/11A-C – Annual Revisions (1888-1930) 13.PRONI VAL/12/E/93/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c1919-c1935) 14.VAL/3D/4/4/A/4 – Valuers RV Binder 1933-57 15.Mayo, John J Esq “The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory” London: William Mitchell, 1867 Secondary Sources 1.Brett, C.E.B. “Buildings of North County Down” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002 2.Merrick, Tony “Buildings of Holywood” Holywood: Holywood Advertiser, 1986 3.www.oxforddnb.com – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior

Historic Interest

Z. Rarity X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Farmhill is a two-storey with attic symmetrical mid-Georgian house, built c.1735. A substantial farmhouse, the house was built to replace a more modest dwelling built in the 17th century, the remains of which can be found in the mews house located to the SW of the site. The house is unusual in its design; from the north it gives all the appearance of being Victorian but the rear has retained its Georgian fenestration and detailing. The original floor-plan survives and detailing is of a good standard throughout. The once substantial grounds have diminished over the years, but Farmhill retains a large mature sloped garden to front and a walled yard and traditional Georgian landscaped garden to rear. An unusual and noteworthy example of its type, Farmhill is a good model of the influence of polite architecture on the ordinary vernacular farmhouse

General Comments

Date of Survey

27 May 2010