Millburn Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-bay three-storey end-terrace mid-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 full-height gabled return to rear (of little interest).

Pitched natural slate roof with angled ridge tiles and painted render chimneystack having moulded caps and six tall clay pots. Plastic rainwater goods on projecting dentilled eaves. Walling is painted roughcast render on a smooth rendered plinth. Windows are replacement 1/1 timber sash with horns in simple painted render reveals with projecting painted sills; oriel window to northeast gable has moulded architraves framing each opening.

The principal elevation faces northwest and is two openings wide at upper floors; single-storey canted bay at ground floor left. Classical-style doorcase at right comprises panelled pilasters, frieze with Greek key motif and scrolled acanthus-leaf console brackets supporting a corniced canopy. Doorcase contains a bolection-moulded five panel timber door with bronze knob, accessed by an original sandstone step.

The northeast gable has oriel window at first floor right with window over at second floor; abutted at left by a modern fire-exit which is accessed by replacement uPVC doors to left at upper floors; two small uPVC windows at ground floor left. Abutted at north corner by a polychrome brick pier.

The southeast (rear) elevation is fully abutted by the full-height return, lit to gable and to northeast by uPVC windows at each floor.

The southeast elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB03/18/034H).

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 neighbouring properties by hedges and to road by a rubblestone wall with sandstone coping and mature shrubbery. Enclosed yard to rear has a two-storey slated roughcast rendered outbuilding forming a terrace with outbuildings to rest of terrace.

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 53 was a house, office and garden occupied by John Huey and leased from Richard Olphert. Being somewhat larger than the other houses in the row, the house was valued at £19.5s and 15s for the garden. Subsequent occupiers were Thomas Nevin (1874) James Duncan (1899) E L Bannon (1909) Henry Cummins (1912) and the Misses Cummins (1921). James Duncan was a supervisor of Inland Revenue from County Sligo who lived with his County Leitrim wife and three daughters, two of whom were born in County Mayo. The family were Episcopalians and all spoke Irish. The eleven-room house was designated first class (1901 census). Henry Cummins was a merchant and contractor who lived with his wife, four children and his sister. His son was an engineer (1911 census).

The terrace was listed in 1997 and in 2001 renovations were carried out to the current house which 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 end-terrace mid-Victorian townhouse; built c.1866 and located to the east side of Millburn Road close to Coleraine town centre. Replacement fenestration to the facade is sympathetic to the original design and viewed from the road the building forms part of a coherent group. The rear has been altered with the insertion of a full-height return and inappropriate fire-exit inserted at northeast gable. The building has important group value as part of a terrace (HB03/18/034A-I), 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.