Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB03/05/002

Address :
Seaport Lodge Portballintrae Bushmills Co. Antrim BT57 8SB

Townland:
Ballintrae

---

Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
22/06/1977 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

---

OS Map No:
6-08

IG Ref:
C9218 4219

---

Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A symmetrical three-bay, two-storey over partially exposed basement detached Georgian house with central bow bay; built c.1770 and situated on the western tip of the bay at Portballintrae. Rectangular plan with two-storey bow bay to front, single-storey bow bays to north and south, and two-storey return to rear. Hipped natural slate roof having rendered chimneystacks rising from balustraded parapet with piers topped by square pinnacles. Parapet gutters and cast-iron downpipes to rear. Walling is painted ruled-and-lined render, roughcast render and plainly detailed, on a stepped plinth; continuous string-course between floors; moulded cornice with a large dentilled, dog-tooth and fluted frieze. Windows are boarded over throughout; with full moulded architraves; square windows to first floor; three-staged full-height Venetian-style windows at ground floor, with heads springing from semi-engaged columns with fluted capitals. Symmetrical east front elevation with two-storey bow entrance bay to centre flanked by left and right bays each comprising square window over Venetian-style windows. Entrance comprises double-leaf three-panelled timber door with brass door furniture, surmounted by boarded fanlight, flanked by panelled pilaster jambs with fluted capitals and archivolt and accessed via a step laid with modern red tiles. Door is flanked by two round-headed window openings, in same style as entrance; three windows over. Symmetrical south elevation has three window openings at first floor (that to right is blank); bow bay to ground floor centre having Venetian-style window flanked to either side by a full-height square-headed blank window opening. The west (rear) elevation is abutted to left of centre by the two-storey return. Round-headed stairwell window to centre, window to first and ground floor right and two covered openings at basement (no details visible). Return is four windows wide at first floor of south elevation; two windows to ground floor and single-storey twentieth-century flat roof extension at left (of little interest). Six-panelled modern timber door to right; north elevation of return has two windows to first and ground floor; left section is recessed with window at first floor (not visible at time of inspection). West gable has a window to first and ground floor right of centre. The north elevation is detailed as south. Setting: Prominently sited on a large site on the western tip of the bay and visible from most parts of the village. Lawned to all sides with gravel to front forecourt and tarmacadamed yard to rear. Site is bound to north coastline by a simple timber fence and accessed from southeast by a replacement timber gate supported on painted square gate piers with pointed caps. Approached by a gravelled laneway from south, lined with modern two-and-three-storey detached houses and apartment blocks. To south entrance at Bayhead Road is the former land steward’s house and stables, now known as Beach Park (HB03/05/003). Roof: Natural slate Walling: Ruled-and-lined & roughcast render Windows: Boarded RWG: Cast-iron (remnants)

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

Seaport Lodge, a two-storey gentleman’s house in the townland of Ballintrae, was constructed in the mid-18th century as a summer residence for the Leslie family of Glaslough. On the first edition of the Ordnance Survey maps for the area, dated 1832, the dwelling was depicted possessing its current layout with a central block incorporating a west-facing rear return. The Ordnance Survey Memoirs noted that in 1832 the village of Portballintrae consisted of only a few houses, chiefly occupied by pilots, but ‘near this to the west side of the bay is Seaport House, the summer residence of James Leslie Esquire.’ In 1835 the Memoirs continued the description noting that the house was built around the year 1790 and although its situation was ‘exposed and unprotected, [the location] was admirably calculated for that of a bathing lodge’ (Ordnance Survey Memoirs, pp 105; 110). The contemporary Townland Valuations, which were carried out in the 1830s, initially valued James Leslie’s residence of Seaport Lodge at £45 7s. 5d. noting ‘it being too good for [a] bathing lodge and not likely to get a tenant if vacant,’ although the value of the site was subsequently reduced to £38 in a later revision of the Townland Valuation of the area. There was no discernible alteration to the layout of the former bathing lodge on the later editions of the Ordnance Survey maps (1855-1921), however between c. 1830 and Griffith’s Valuation of 1859 the value of the site was slightly increased to £40. By that year occupation of Seaport Lodge had passed from James to Henry Leslie who was recorded as both occupant and owner of the site. Henry Leslie continued to reside at Seaport Lodge until his death in 1864 at which time the property passed to his widow Harriet Ann Leslie (PRONI Wills Catalogue). The Annual Revisions continued to record Henry Leslie as the occupant of the property until as late as 1882 when a Colonel E. Douglas Leslie came into possession of the site. Col. E. Douglas Leslie resided at Seaport Lodge until 1908 when James G. Leslie took possession; despite the change in ownership during this period, Seaport Lodge remained sporadically occupied as a summer residence laying vacant during both the 1901 and 1911 censuses which were both conducted in the month of April. James Leslie continued to be recorded as the occupant of Seaport Lodge until the end of the Annual Revisions in 1929 at which time the value of the site remained at £40. As a result of a more peaceable climate and the development of good communication links by the 18th century, the increasingly confident landed gentry in Ireland began to construct more capacious and attractive residences; Seaport Lodge is a fine example of a mid-to-late-Georgian seaside dwelling built for purposes of leisure over the past concerns of defence and security. Both Brett and Girvan give the construction date of Seaport Lodge as c. 1770, despite the Ordnance Survey Memoirs claiming a later date of c. 1790; Brett states that the dwelling was constructed by James Leslie, soon after the completion of his other main residence, Leslie Hill, in 1772. James Leslie’s ability to erect two major houses within such a short period led Brett to suggest that Leslie ‘much overstrained the family finances’ to realise his ambition of possessing a grand country house with a leisurely seaside retreat. Local tradition states that Seaport Lodge was constructed gradually over a period of many years, originally designed solely for summer use the house did not possess fireplaces or servants quarters. However, at an unknown date chimneys and fireplaces were installed as the dwelling came to be occupied outside of the summer months. Seaport Lodge’s main domestic block was the first section of the building to be constructed; Brett states that the two-storey western service wing was added later, most likely in 1827 as that date is inscribed on many of the later wing’s wall plates. An early painting of Seaport Lodge depicts rounded Gothick-glazing to the ground floor; however the original glazing bars were replaced at the turn of the century when Colonel E. Douglas Leslie came into possession. The dwelling also possessed a number of outbuildings, the most significant of which, its coaching stables, still survive and have been converted into a public house and restaurant (HB03/05/003). (Brett, pp 83-84; Girvan, p. 4; p. 23). Seaport Lodge remained in the possession of the Leslie family until the mid-20th century; the coastal dwelling was listed in 1977 and since that time has continued to be privately owned. Stabilising work is currently being carried out to the interior of the Georgian property. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/1/3/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1832 2. PRONI OS/6/1/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1855 3. PRONI OS/6/1/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1904 4. PRONI OS/6/1/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1921 5. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/3 – Townland Valuation map c. 1830 6. PRONI VAL/1/B/140 – Townland Valuations c. 1830 7. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/34A – Griffith’s Valuation 1859 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2A – Annual Revisions 1859-1864 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2B – Annual Revisions 1864-1876 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2C – Annual Revisions 1876-1884 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2D – Annual Revisions 1885-1889 12. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2E – Annual Revisions 1889-1895 13. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/21A – Annual Revisions 1896-1909 14. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/21B – Annual Revisions 1909-1921 15. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/13A – Annual Revisions 1923-1929 16. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) 17. Ordnance Survey Memoirs, Co. Antrim Vol. 16, V (1830-38) 18. PRONI Wills (5 July 1864) 19. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 20. PRONI Wills Catalogue (5 July 1864) 21. First Survey Record – HB03/05/003 (1972) 22. First Survey Image – HB03/05/003 (1975) 23. Ordnance Survey Map – 6-8 (1965) Secondary Sources 1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of County Antrim’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1996. 2. Girvan, W., ‘North Antrim: Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in North Antrim including towns of Portrush, Ballymoney and Bushmills’ Belfast, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

R. Age U. Historic Associations T. Historic Importance X. Local Interest Z. Rarity

Evaluation

Seaport Lodge is a symmetrical three-bay, two-storey-over-basement detached Georgian house with central bow bay; built c.1770 and prominently situated on the western tip of the bay at Portballintrae. External architectural detailing is largely intact. Dominating the coastline, Seaport House is one of the earliest examples of a bathing lodge in the district and is therefore quite rare. It has important connections with the Leslie family. It remains of significant local interest and is one of the most significant buildings of the district. It also has group value with the original stewards house and stables at Beach Park (HB03/05/003).

General Comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; U - Historic Associations and T - Historic Importance also apply.

Date of Survey

14 September 2012