Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/46/001 A

Address :
Gate Lodge 2 Fortwilliam Park Antrim Road Belfast Co.Antrim BT15 4AL

Townland:
Skegoneill

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
17/12/1980 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
Gates/ Screens/ Lodges

Former Use
lodge

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-5

IG Ref:
J3322 7740

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A single storey mid-Victorian three bay Gothic Revival style gate lodge, built in 1864 to designs by W. J. Barre. L-plan form to original structure, facing SE to Fortwilliam Park, with tower rising from entrance porch. Uncoursed squared quarry-faced sandstone to walls with smooth-faced stop-chamfered dressings to quoins, windows and door surrounds. Extension of similar size built c.1995 in a complementary style but set on different axis to N and NW of original lodge. Situated at the junction of Fortwilliam Park and the Antrim Road the gate lodge once served as an entrance to the Fortwilliam Estate with four large associated Gothic Revival gate pillars still remaining directly to S (HB26/46/001B). Gabled natural slate roof with black roll top ridge tiles, bargeboards decorated with simple paired nailhead design and timber boarded soffit to eaves. Heavy projecting eaves supported by timber corbels arranged in threes with replacement ogee aluminium guttering above discharging to uPVC circular section downpipes. Hexagonal section red sandstone chimney to centre of roof ridge on SW section of L-plan, similar chimney to NE of original building now abutted by pitched roof of c.1995 extension. Main entrance porch at re-entrant corner of L-plan rises to square tower with pierced stone parapet coping supporting timber open latticework; natural slate roof with leaded ridges and decorative ironwork finial. Windows are generally 2/2 panes to double hung timber sashes divided by a horizontal glazing bar and are protected by iron latticework grills set within stop-chamfered sandstone surrounds. Principal elevation The south elevation has a single bay to E, advanced gable bay to W and projecting square tower at their meeting. Paired lancet windows to central tower with similar, but larger, paired lancet windows to gable. E bay has paired square-headed window. Windows are sliding sash, without horns and have protective lattice ironwork grilles. West elevation Original building of three bays with paired windows to S and single square headed window to N. Chimney to centre of roof apex. Three bays of original building divided from c.1995 extension by three-part timber framed infill panel with diagonally sheeted apron panel, glazed upper section having protective lattice ironwork. Extension projects at an angle to NW and has three bays of square headed double hung sash windows with 1/1 panes, ogee horns and protective ironwork. NW gable of extension has no openings. North elevation North elevation is obscured by site boundary, however, from internal images it is possible to ascertain that there are no openings along the N face of the 1995 extension. East elevation Three bay elevation consisting of central gable with attached flat roofed bay to N and tower to S, set back from main front. Pointed-arch opening within square entrance porch at base of tower framing timber diagonal match-boarded door with original ironmongery including stylised Victorian eagle knocker. Tripartite pointed arch windows to centre of projecting gabled elevation having double hung sash windows with 2/2 horizontal panes and one section of bulls eye glass. Simple ashlar stone circular vent centred above tripartite window. Square headed door opening with timber chevron boarded door in flat-roofed extension to right hand side. Setting Located to the NE of the junction of the Antrim Road and Fortwilliam Park, the principle entrance of the gate lodge is approached by a small replacement steel pedestrian gate and a short flight of four granite steps at S with path leading to E side of square tower where main doorway is located. Site bounded to S by established hedging and timber picket fence with single dressed sandstone pillar to SW corner junction, random-coursed rock-faced basalt stone walling and area of shrubs to W. Square-section rock-faced stone pillars topped by reconstituted stone swept pyramidal coping with ball finials and replacement iron gates to paved yard at SE. Site bounded to N by high wall with rendered finish. Roof: Natural slate RWG: Replacement aluminium guttering with circular section downpipes Walling: Random-coursed squared rock-faced sandstone Windows: Double hung sliding sash with horizontal glazing bars, similar with ogee horns and no glazing bars to c.1995 extension.

Architects

Barre, W.J & Drew, T.

Historical Information

No. 2 Fortwilliam Park, a single-storey mid-Victorian gate lodge located at the corner of the Antrim Road, was constructed in 1864. The gate lodge was built at the same time as the adjoining gateway to Fortwilliam Park (see HB26/46/001B) which consists of four sandstone Gothic Revival gate pillars. The lodge and gateway were erected at one of the main entrances to the Fortwilliam estate in the townland of Skegoneill. Fortwilliam House was constructed pre-1832 and was one of many gentlemen’s mansions that were built along the Antrim and Shore Roads. The first edition Ordnance Survey map records that the mansion was neighboured by Sea View and Mount Vernon (two similar gentleman’s dwellings) in the 1830s. Lewis’ contemporary Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) records that Fortwilliam House was constructed near, and named after, an encampment known as Fort William that was believed to have been erected by King William III in 1690. Lewis states that the encampment measured 70ft square and was ‘surrounded by a deep fosse and defended by a bastion at each angle … near it is another intrenchment of ruder construction.’ Dean states that the estate was owned by the Lendrick family until 1810 when George Langtry, a local ship owner, acquired the site (Lewis; Dean, p. 13). By the mid-19th century Fortwilliam House had grown to become one of the most extensive gentlemen’s manors along the Shore Road. In 1859 Griffith’s Valuation recorded that Fortwilliam House was owned by Elizabeth Langtry and consisted of the house, three gate lodges and numerous outbuildings that dotted its estate (which consisted of approximately 155 acres). Dean notes that two of Langtry’s lodges were constructed pre-1832 (both now demolished) and were located on the Shore Road whilst the third was located on the Antrim Road (c. 1850 – also demolished) (Dean, p. 13). Fortwilliam House passed to William Valentine Esq, a Director in the Northern Banking Company and the Belfast and Ballymena Railway, in 1859. Valentine began to break up the Fortwilliam Estate in c. 1864 when a new street was laid out, running between the Antrim and Shore Roads, named Fortwilliam Park. Over the following decades a number of impressive merchant’s manors were constructed along the newly formed suburban street (including Morven House (HB26/46/003) and Rosaville House (HB26/46/006)) which quickly established itself as one of Belfast’s most affluent residential areas. The two gateways were constructed at the Antrim and Shore Road entrances to Fortwilliam Park in 1864 with each entrance possessing a gate lodge. The architect of the Shore Road gateway and lodge is not known with certainty but the ornate Gothic Revival gate piers and lodge located on the Antrim Road were designed by W. J. Barre (UTD). William Joseph Barre (c. 1826-1867) was born in Newry and became one of Belfast’s most prolific (if short-lived) architects. Barre moved to Belfast after winning the competition to design the Ulster Hall in 1859 and designed some of the city’s most impressive Victorian edifices including Belmont Presbyterian Church (1860-61), The Moat (1863-64), University Road Methodist Church (1864-65), the Provincial Bank on Royal Avenue (1864-69), Bryson House on Bedford Street (1865-67) and the Albert Memorial Clock Tower (1865-69). Barre’s Gothic Revival design for the Antrim Road gate piers was typical of his style and resembles the ornate detailing also seen on the Albert Clock. Barre died in 1867 of an illness having made a brief but lasting mark upon the architectural landscape of Belfast (DIA). Dean described the Antrim Road gate lodge as a ‘charming and innovative entrance lodge. On an L-plan in uncoursed squared quarry-faced sandstone with smooth dressings to coupled and tripartite openings in a mixture of lancet and square heads. Gabled, its eaves are given support by curved wooden brackets arranged in threes. The composition dominated by a nice square belfry rising from the entrance hall, a perforated plinth separated from the slated spire by an open wooden lattice stage. The octagonal stone chimney rather apologetic in scale’ (Dean, p. 13). The gate lodges on the Antrim and Shore Roads were occupied by the park’s porters (the first occupant of the Antrim Road lodge was a Mr. J. Robinson). In 1886 the Annual Revisions set the value of the lodge at £8 and noted a Mr. John Mallon an occupant. In 1901 the lodge was inhabited by William Sloan, who was a gardener in addition to park porter. In that year the census building return described the Antrim Road gate lodge as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of three rooms. The occupants of the lodge continued to change with frequency over the following three decades. In the 1930s Fortwilliam House was demolished when the remainder of the estate was developed for housing. The First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) notes that the porter’s lodge on the Antrim Road was utilised by the Belfast Civil Defence Authority as an Air Raid Warden Station during the Second World War. In the aftermath of the conflict the building was not returned to its original use but was purchased outright by the Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association. The building continued to be utilised by the Territorial Army by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) at which time its value stood at £9. The gate lodge and gate pillars at the Antrim Road entrance to Fortwilliam Park were listed in 1980 (the Italianate gate lodge at the Shore Road entrance had been demolished in 1955). The NIEA HB Records note that the former lodge had been converted into an antiques shop by the 1980s. The single-storey sandstone extension to the north of the lodge was added in c. 1995 when the building was, once more, utilised as a dwelling. The gate lodge was converted into office premises in 2000 (NIEA HB Records). Resources Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832-33) 2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858) 3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02) 4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1931) 5. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938) 6. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/21C – Griffith’s Valuation (1859) 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/5/8A-8F – Annual Revisions (1862-1897) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/H/1-7 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 10. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/16 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 12. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1943) 13. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 14. First Survey Record – HB26/46/001A (1973) 15. NIEA HB Records – HB26/46/001A Secondary Sources 1. ‘Old Belfast: Belfast’s local history magazine - Vol. 12’ Belfast: Glenravel Local History Project. 2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985. 3. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994. 4. Dixon, H; Walker, B., ‘No Mean City: 1880-1914’ Belfast: The Friar’s Bush Press, 1984. 5. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation K. Group value

Historic Interest

R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance V. Authorship X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A well proportioned and detailed three bay Gothic Revival style gate lodge constructed of random-coursed squared sandstone with a distinctive square entrance tower, built in 1864 to designs by W. J. Barre. L-shaped plan form to original structure, facing SE and extended to N and NW in c.1995 by gabled addition set to different orientation. An eccentric little building, it is of local historical importance retaining much of its original character and style, with the later extension doubling its size and marrying its style, yet providing clarity of the original structure's layout and design. The gate lodge is situated at the junction of Fortwilliam Park and the Antrim Road within the Somerton Road Conservation Area and is demarked by a single dressed sandstone pillar to the SW corner and random-coursed rock-faced basalt stone walling and shrubs to W, both of which add architectural character. The gate lodge has group value with the ornate sandstone gate screen (HB 26/46/001B), also designed by Barre, and provides a significant reminder of the former Fortwilliam Estate.

General Comments

Date of Survey

10 October 2014