Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB22/07/018

Address :
24A Belfast Road Carrickfergus Co Antrim BT38 8BU

Townland:
West Division

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:
19/11/1991 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:
20/03/2003 00:00:00

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:
98/16 SE

IG Ref:
J4054 8703

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Small, plain, single storey hipped roof stuccoed house of 1880-81, built as the gate lodge to the now demolished Castle Rocklands house, with later flat roofed extensions to rear and south side. The property is set (behind a high wall) on the south side of Belfast Road, on the western outskirts of Carrickfergus. The wall and gate screen was altered significantly in c.1980.. East elevation of original block is symmetrical with one window to each side of a central doorway. Hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses, with overhanging eaves on a painted stone eaves course; moulded cast iron gutter; lead ridge and hips; two chimneys, smooth cement rendered and painted, with moulded cornices; two stub pots to each. Walling is smooth cement rendered lined, and painted, with moulded quoins to extremities, moulded projecting plinth, coved and moulded cornice, and moulded surrounds to door and windows. Windows are rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 2 over 1, with horns, set in recessed frames; projecting stone cills. Entrance consists of a modern rectangular timber glazed and panelled door, surmounted by a plain rectangular fanlight; fanlight partially blocked by a timber piece mounted with a bulk-head light; door has modern metal draught strip surround and modern letterbox and escutcheon; plain cement screed doorstep. Set back to the left-hand edge of the main block is a lower flat roofed extension, a later addition: wall rendered as previous with projecting plinth but no quoins, and with a plain rendered projecting eaves course; one window, rectangular PVC two-light, comprising one fixed light with one side-hung casement, set in plain reveals; small projecting concrete cill, painted. South elevation comprises the south gable of the main hipped roofed block with a flat roofed projection to the front and the flat roofed rear return to the west. Original main block has a hipped slated roof as previous except for clay hip tiles to the left-hand side; walling to each side of flat roofed projection is rendered as previous including quoins to extremities; one window to left of projecting block, as previous to front elevation except glazed 2 over 2. Projecting block has a blank south wall, containing one small PVC waste pipe; west wall contains a modern rectangular timber door, glazed two-panel, with modern handle and draught strip, set in plain reveals, with two rendered steps; cast iron downpipe. Extending to the west of the main block is a flat roofed rear return, of similar render to main block, but without quoins or moulded cornice; large plain projecting painted rendered eaves course; one window, modern rectangular PVC two-light as previous with plain reveals and concrete cill; one doorway, rectangular opening with broken timber door, and crude three-pane fanlight above; leads to a covered passage with rendered walls, cement creed floor, and plastered ceiling, which leads to a small enclosed yard to the north. West elevation comprises rear of main block with a lower flat roofed rear return projecting at the right-hand side. West elevation of main block: hipped slated roof as previous to entrance front except for clay hip tiles; wall to left of rear return is plain rendered and painted, with moulded and coved cornice; one window, rectangular timber, sashed 2 over 1 with horns, set in plain reveals, with painted projecting stone cill; PVC casing to cables affixed to wall. West elevation of rear return is a plain cement rendered wall. North elevation of main block: hipped slated roof with overhanging eaves; lead hip to left; clay hip tiles to right-hand hip; moulded cast iron gutter; original end wall now faced with artificial stone up to soffit, obscuring all original render except for a small portion of coved cornice to each extremity. Artificial stone facing continues to each end to form boundary walling. North elevation of rear return, within enclosed yard: plain rendered wall with plain projecting eaves cornice; cast iron downpipe to right-hand end; cast iron soil pipe to left. Two windows, modern rectangular metal and modern rectangular PVC, in plain reveals with painted concrete cills. One door, rectangular timber tongued and grooved with glazed panel set in crude timber frame, leading to rear covered passage. SETTING: The building stands within its own grounds, with its north gable next to the pavement at the main road. The entrance front faces a driveway, and is set back from it beyond small grassed areas containing flower beds and bushes. Tarmac paths across entrance elevation and leading to main driveway; crazy paving along south elevation with cement screed area along south side of rear return. Small garden to south, enclosed by hedge bordering driveway and west boundary wall. West boundary formed by a basalt rubble wall with rounded cement coping except within yard where it is uncoped; yard surfaced in cement screed; enclosing wall on north side of yard is of modern artificial stone. East boundary of site formed by a modern concrete post and wire fence. North boundary of site formed by modern artificial stone walling extending to each side from the north gable of the main block, linked to a basalt gatescreen to the east. GATEWAY: Gateway to main drive comprises a pair of square masonry piers, now without gates, linked to a pair of outer piers by screen walls; outer pier to east marks boundary corner; outer pier to west is linked to entrance front of building by a lower modern artificial stone wall. Piers are square on plan, of squared basalt, of hammered finish, with moulded sandstone cornices, painted, surmounted by painted ball finials; screen walls are of basalt rubble with concrete slab copings; all masonry has modern reticulated cement pointing. Map evidence suggests that the outer piers were originally placed further to the N and linked to the inner piers via a ‘quadrant’ wall. The piers were undoubtedly moved to their present position when the Belfast Road was widened [?c.1980]. Mature trees line both sides of main driveway running to the south of the site.

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

This property was built in 1880-81 as the gate lodge to Castle Rocklands house, a large gentleman’s residence whose first resident was one Rev. James Warwick. Warwick remained in residence until c.1889, after which the the main house and the lodge were acquired by William Allen Woodside, who appears to have shared the house a relative [?brother], David Woodside. In 1919 Castle Rocklands was bought by an R.N. Boyd, who held it until 1950 at least. The gate lodge itself was extended in the mid to later 1900s, with flat roofed additions to the rear and south side. The gate screen next to the lodge was altered in c.1980 when the Belfast Road was widened. Castle Rocklands house itself was demolished in the later 1990s and the lodge is currently vacant. References – Primary Sources 1 PRONI VAL/12B/7/5a-f Annual valuation revision notebooks, Carrickfergus parish, 1864-c.1894 2 PRONI VAL/12B/7/6a-d Annual valuation revision notebooks, Carrickfergus Rural District, c.1894-c.1929 3 PRONI OS/6/1/52/3 OS map 6in County Series, Co Antrim sh 52, 1904 Secondary Sources 1. G.H. Bassett, ‘The Book of Antrim’ (Dublin, 1888), pp 361, 363 2. UAHS, Carrickfergus (Belfast, 1980), p 29 (item no. 20d – gate lodge; item no. 20c – former main house served by gate lodge) 3. J.A.K. Dean, ‘The Gate Lodges of Ulster’ (UAHS, Belfast, 1994), p 7 [This book says the lodge is ‘c.1870’- but the valuations tell us it was built in 1880-81.]

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This is a building of no special historic or architectural interest. It is a mid-Victorian gate lodge of plain character whose original exterior appearance has now been altered by inappropriate additions and whose interior is now lacking any features of architectural quality or interest. The original setting has also been degraded, by the widening of the main road and the consequent alteration of the adjacent main gateway.

General Comments

Date of Survey

15 November 2001