Millburn Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-bay three-storey mid-terrace Victorian townhouse, built c.1866 and located to the east side of Millburn Road in Coleraine town centre. Square on plan with single-storey canted bay to front and three-storey return to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof with blue/black angled ridge tiles; rendered and red-brick chimneystacks having replacement tall clay pots. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on dentilled eaves. Walling is dry dash over a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are replacement uPVC in simple smooth render surrounds with projecting painted sills; continuous sill course to canted bay; mid-twentieth century timber casements to rear return.

The principal elevation faces northwest and is two windows wide at upper floors; canted bay window to ground floor left. Classical-style doorcase at right comprises panelled pilasters, frieze carved with Greek-key motif and scrolled acantus-leaf console brackets supporting a corniced canopy. Doorcase contains a replacement multi-paned timber entrance door with transom light inscribed “39” and is accessed by two concrete steps.

The northeast elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB03/18/034C).

The southeast (rear) elevation has a window to each floor at right; abutted at left by the three-storey gabled return with window to upper floors at northeast elevation (see surveyor’s comments).

The southwest elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB03/18/034D).

Setting:

Forming part of a mid-nineteenth century terrace on the east side of the River Bann in Coleraine town centre, overlooking The Rose Gardens and Anderson Park. Slightly elevated on a lawned and shrubbed site with concrete pathway leading to steps to paved patio at front of house. Bounded to road by mature hedge and rubblestone wall topped by sandstone coping; square rendered piers with pointed caps support a replacement timber gate and have two stone steps. Enclosed rear yard has modified two-storey outbuilding forming part of a terrace.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Dry dash
Windows: uPVC
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

Millburn Terrace, originally named Clifton Terrace, was built c1866 on land owned by Richard Olphert of Millburn House (Mullin) and is first shown on the third edition OS map of 1904.

The closing decades of the nineteenth century saw a building boom of terraces and villas in Coleraine of which local people were extremely proud. After the Coleraine Building Society was established in 1864 a search was undertaken for suitable sites for workmen’s cottages but the sites advertised by the Olphert estate on the Millburn Road caught the Society’s attention and their first major development was the current terrace of eight dwellings (a ninth was added c1875). The contractor was Joseph Esdale and the terrace was named ‘Clifton’, the family name of Lady Bruce, whose husband Sir Henry Hervey Bruce was the president of the building society (Mullin). The terrace, originally eight houses, all with returns, was built with canted bays and railings to the front and a row of outbuildings to the rear. Well-known Coleraine merchants such as Hugh Cheyne and James Brookes were the first occupiers and by the turn into the twentieth century residents were a mix of retired farmers, professional people and merchants some of whom were able to employ a servant.

Number 39 was a house, office and garden occupied by H H Birch and leased from John Gribbon. The house was valued at £16 and 15s for the garden. Subsequent occupiers were John O’Brien (1868/9) John Thomson (1872) James Davidson (1877) John Gribbon (1882) Daniel McLaughlin (1892) William Eccles (1900) Sara Kennedy (1905) and Alexander Irwin (1913). John Thomson lived at the house with his son Hugh Thomson who was then 12 years old and who later became an illustrator of national significance, producing illustrations for over seventy books (Snoddy). In 1901 widow Anne Eccles lived with her son William Eccles the town clerk of Coleraine and employed a live-in domestic. The nine-room house was designated first class (1901 census). The 1911 census records six rooms in the house as occupied by widow Sarah Kennedy and three further rooms occupied by grandmother Elizabeth Innes and her two grandchildren who had been born in Spain (1911 census).

The terrace was listed in 1997 and extended to the rear in 2002 to form four flats.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/7/1 First Edition OS Map 1830
2. PRONI OS/6/5/7/2 Second Edition OS map 1849-50
3. PRONI OS/6/5/7/3 Third Edition OS Map 1904
4. PRONI OS/6/5/7/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1923
5. PRONI OS/6/5/7/5 Fifth Edition OS Map 1949
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/30/9A-N Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
7. 1901/1911 census
8. HB file – 03/18/034A-I

Secondary Sources

1. Girvan, W D “Historic Buildings, Groups of Buildings, Areas of Architectural Importance in Coleraine and Portstewart” Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1971-2
2. Mullin, Rev T H “Coleraine in Modern Times” Belfast: Century Services Ltd, 1979
3. Snoddy, T “Dictionary of Irish Artists, 20th Century” Dublin: Merlin Publishing, 2002

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

A two-bay three-storey mid-terrace Victorian townhouse; built c.1866 and located to the east side of Millburn Road close to Coleraine town centre. Simply detailed with some replacement fabric including uPVC windows, the house forms part of an important terrace (HB03/18/034A-I) situated close to the town centre, and is of interest primarily as part of this group. Prominently sited, the terrace is one of the best preserved examples of mid-nineteenth century terraced architecture in the town, making a considerable contribution to the architectural quality and character of Coleraine.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; and S - Authenticity also apply.