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 two-storey return to rear.

Pitched natural slate roof with rendered chimneystacks. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on corbelled eaves. Walling is painted roughcast render on a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are uPVC in painted smooth rendered reveals with projecting painted sills; canted bay to ground floor has continuous sill.

The principal elevation faces northwest and is two windows wide at upper floors; single-storey canted bay at ground floor left. Classical-style doorcase at right comprises panelled pilasters, frieze carved with Greek key motif and scrolled acanthus-leaf console brackets supporting a corniced canopy. Doorcase contains a modern half-panelled timber door with plain transom light over, accessed by two stone steps.

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

The southeast (rear) elevation has a window to centre at second floor and to left at first floor; abutted at left by the two-storey return.

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

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 paved patio at front of house. Bounded to neighbouring properties and road by mature hedges; accessed by two rendered square gate piers supporting a replacement mild steel latch gate. Enclosed yard to rear has a two-storey slated roughcast rendered outbuilding forming part of a terrace, with corrugated tin roof and plastic rainwater goods. Southeast elevation has replacement timber-sheeted loading door to first floor over large timber-sheeted entrance gate.

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Painted roughcast render
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 51 was a house, office and garden occupied by Hugh Cheyne and valued at £16 and 15s for the garden. Subsequent occupiers were Hugh Nevins (1868/9) George Thompson (1879) James Graham (1889) James Foulis (1899) Hugh Ramsey (1906) and James McKay (1925). Resident at the time of the 1901 census was Mary Grainger, a retired farmer’s wife and widow of 86 who could not read or write. The eleven-room house was designated first class (census 1901). In 1911 Hugh Ramsey, retired farmer, lived in the house with his wife (census 1911)

The terrace was listed in 1997 and the current dwelling remains in domestic use.

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
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 situated in the town centre, and is of interest primarily as part of this group (HB03/18/034A-I). 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.