Seabank

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A symmetrical three-bay four-storey-with-attic terraced former hotel, now residential home; remodelled from a pre-1830 structure, largely rebuilt c.1912. Located on the East Strand in Portrush town centre, west of Main Street and overlooking the Irish Sea. Rectangular plan with two-storey bowed bay windows and projecting entrance porch to east and full-height gabled return to rear.

Hipped natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and leaded ridges and hips; three 3/3 dormer windows to front pitch, central dormer flanked by rendered chimneystacks with moulded caps. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on projecting dentilled eaves. Walling is painted smooth render on a plinth, with moulded string course above fourth floor windows. Windows are 6/6 timber-framed sliding sash with horns in moulded architraves with projecting sills; two sets of paired windows with continuous sills to third and fourth floors. Those to third floor are flanked by panelled pilasters with cornice on consoles and central keyblock; decorative moulded bracket under sill to central window; second floor central opening contains modern double-leaf glazed timber doors surmounted by segmental pediment on consoles; bowed bay surmounted by balustraded parapets, 6/6 windows to ground and first floor, those to ground floor with sills at floor level; continuous sills course to first floor.

The principal elevation faces east and is symmetrically arranged with five openings at each floor; bowed bays flank a central projecting entrance porch, also with balustraded parapet. Porch has 6/6 window flanked by paired pilasters with entasis and Ionic capitals; surmounted by a pulvinated frieze with ornate carved and painted cartouche and a dentilled cornice. Porch opens to left and right cheek with replacement double-leaf panelled-and-glazed timber doors with transom light. Concrete ramp with modern metal handrail to left entrance, stone step to right entrance door.

The south gable is abutted to second floor by adjoining building; two windows at fourth floor.

The west (rear) elevation has two 1/1 windows to upper floors at left abutted at ground floor by a slated extension (partially concealed from view); abutted at right by the full-height gabled return. North elevation of return has a window to upper floors at left and a two-storey lean-to extension with modern lift shaft extending above roof line; otherwise blank. Gable has a window to first floor left and a modern timber door to ground floor left.

The north gable is abutted to third floor by adjoining building; upper section is blank.

Setting:
Situated overlooking the promenade at the East Strand in Portrush town centre; tarmacadamed parking area to front enclosed by roughcast rendered wall with hedge. Entrance has smooth rendered painted walls with coping stones and oversized plinth; to centre are square piers having moulded cornice and ball finial to caps. Forming part of a Victorian terrace, with modern four-storey apartment block to north. To south is a distinctive two-storey-with-attic late-Victorian house with shaped gable and projecting two-storey glazed timber frontage. Enclosed rear yard partially covered with plastic canopy, and two-storey garage, through which rear alleyway is accessed.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Smooth render
Windows: 6/6 timber-framed sash
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Seabank has undergone many phases of remodelling since it was first built, in line with the expansion of Portrush as a bathing resort. The building owes its current appearance largely to rebuilding work that took place in 1912. At the core of the structure, however, is a gentleman’s summer residence dating from the early 1830s.

A simple rectangular structure is shown on the site on the first edition OS map of 1831-2 but this is shown on the valuation town plan of Portrush dating from c1833 as a much more substantial building with the bow-fronted seaward profile that we see today. The building is listed in the Townland Valuation of 1833 as a vacant dwelling house owned by Stephen Bennett of ‘Greenfield’ in County Londonderry and valued at £25.6s. Dimensions are given which roughly equate to the dimensions given in valuer’s notes of 1910 suggesting that this early building was retained as the core of the later hotel. (Valuation records; Will of Stephen Bennett)

On the second edition of 1853 the house is shown as a substantial residence with outbuildings, a private house valued at £42 in Griffith’s Valuation (1859) and leased by William Chaine from Stephen Bennett. Dimensions given show that the building had acquired a return by the late 1850s. William Chaine was a Captain in Her Majesty’s 10th Hussars and died in 1871, after which his widow continued to occupy the house until the 1880s. (Will of William Chaine; Valuation Records) In 1886 ‘Seabank’ a fully furnished ‘gentleman’s residence’ was advertised to let for the season in the Belfast Newsletter by John Sheills & Co who owned the house for a number of years. At this point the dwelling contained three sitting and seven bedrooms in addition to servants’ apartments. The large yard to the rear had stabling for four horses and a coachhouse. (Belfast Newsletter)

John Hetherington, retired grocer, purchased a 99-year lease for £1,000 from the Antrim Estate in 1888 and built two new houses to the right of the present building in 1890 (numbers 11 and 12), valued at £33 each. These buildings were later absorbed into the hotel. (Brett; Valuation Records) It is not clear if the present building was remodelled at this time, its valuation fell rather than rose in 1890, although conservatories were added to the site. The Belfast Newsletter for July 1895 advertises the ‘Seabank Hotel’ which offers lunches and dinners for 1s, but at this point it is still the property of Sheills & Co. (Belfast Newsletter; 1911 census)

In 1910 the hotel was taken over by Miss Fitzpatrick, Hetherington’s niece, and ‘improvements’ were made resulting in a rise in valuation to £52. More significant alterations were made in 1912 when a small porch was added to the front of the hotel, the main block was raised from 24 feet high to 51 feet high and the rear return was rebuilt to dimensions 19x49x49 feet. Miss Fitzpatrick advertised the newly-remodelled hotel in the ‘Official Guide to Portrush of 1912’ as ‘Delightfully situated in its own grounds, overlooking the Atlantic, Giants’ Causeway &c., close to all Bathing places. Sea view from 30 Bedrooms. Accommodation for 130 Guests. Billiard Room. Smoke Room with Balcony. Large Lounge. Coffee Room. Drawing Room. Splendid large Dining Room, Separate Tables. Excellent Menu and attendance.” The ‘Official Guide’ also bears a picture of the hotel as it appeared after the rebuilding.

The three houses (the current building and numbers 11 and 12) were taken over by Emily C O’Neill in 1918 and in 1920 she extended the porch by about six feet to its current dimensions. In 1928 she made further alterations to the buildings, making several additions to the rear including a ballroom. The accommodation now comprised a dining room, drawing room, lounge, smoke room, recreation room, kitchen, larder, 52 guest bedrooms (including 2 attics), 12 servants’ bedrooms, 2 private bedrooms and a private sitting room. The buildings were valued together from this point, at £230. Also in 1928 there was a proposal by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to acquire the hotel in addition to the Northern Counties Hotel which was already under their ownership. The railway was concerned about falling profits due to competition from motor bus tours and wanted to acquire Seabank in order to boost the tourist trade, especially from Lancashire. Surviving notes on the proposal include extremely detailed information about the layout and interior fittings of Seabank at this time. (PRONI) The proposal does not appear to have been carried through and from the 1930s the hotel was owned by a limited company, Seabank Hotel Ltd.

The hotel was revalued at £276 in the early 1930s and in 1936 a passenger lift was installed, raising the valuation to £288. The hotel now had 60 guest bedrooms and could seat 90 in the dining room. The basement beneath the current building was fitted up as a laundry and drying room and the hotel had central heating and electric light.

In 1948, number 13 to the left of Seabank (which had been constructed in 1910) became absorbed into the hotel with a consequent rise in the total valuation to £400. However, by the 1950s tourist numbers were beginning to fall and in 1968 the Seabank Hotel was converted for use as a student Hall of Residence for the newly-opened University of Ulster, accommodating 70 students. (Irish Times 23rd October 1968) The building has since been converted into a residential care home for the elderly and was restored in 1989 and repainted in 1995. Brett notes in 1995 that ornamental eagles on the gate piers, recorded by Girvan and present since at least 1912, had ‘flown away’. (Brett; Official Guide to Portrush 1912)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/2/1 First Edition OS Map 1831-2
2. PRONI OS/6/1/2/2 Second Edition OS map 1853
3. PRONI OS/6/1/2/3 Third Edition OS Map 1906
4. PRONI OS/6/1/2/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1921-31
5. PRONI OS/6/1/2/5 Fifth Edition OS Map 1946-50
6. PRONI OS/8/42/1-2 – Town Plans of Portrush (1895-6)
7. PRONI VAL/1/D/1/6 – Valuation Town Plan Portrush (c1833)
8. PRONI VAL/1/B/137 – Townland Valuation (1833)
9. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/30B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
10. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/121 Valuer’s Notes (1910)
11. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/122 Valuer’s Notes (1912)
12. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/123 Valuer’s Notes (1920)
13. PRONI VAL/12/A/1/125 Valuer’s Notes (1924-34)
14. PRONI VAL/12/B/6/2A-E – Annual Revisions (1859-1895)
15. PRONI VAL/12/B/4/22A-D Annual Revisions (1895-1930)
16. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/30 First General Revaluation 1933-57
17. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/15/A/5 First General Revaluation 1933-57
18. PRONI LA65/50F/1 The Official Guide to Portrush 1912
19. PRONI Will of Stephen Bennett, died 20th January 1861
20. PRONI Will of William Chaine, died 10th January 1871
21. PRONI UTA/12/D/95 – London Midland and Scottish Railway – Seabank (1928)
22. 1911 census
23. HB File – 03/010/028
24. Belfast Newsletter 24th July 1886
25. Belfast Newsletter 13th July 1895
26. Irish Times 23rd October 1968

Secondary Sources

1. Brett, C.E.B. “Buildings of County Antrim” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996
2. Girvan, W D “Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in North Antrim including the towns of Portrush, Ballymoney and Bushmills” Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1975

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
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A symmetrical three-bay four-storey-with-attic terraced former hotel, now residential home; remodelled from a pre-1830 structure, largely rebuilt c.1912. Located on the East Strand in Portrush town centre, west of Main Street and overlooking the Irish Sea. Architectural detailing dates mainly from the 1912 remodelling and is well-preserved. The setting has been compromised by the alteration of the terrace to north to include a four-storey modern apartment complex. Conversion into a residential home in the late 1980s has resulted in some loss of historic fabric, however, the grandeur of the original interior is still intact. An increasingly rare example of an early twentieth-century sea-front hotel, Seabank attests to the prosperity of Portrush and its continuing development as a resort town into the twentieth century. Of significant social interest, the building is an important local landmark.

General comments

Additional listing criteria apply - R-Age, S - Authenticity