2-3 The Square, Cushendun, Co Antrim BT44 0PQ

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two former two-storey three-bay white painted Edwardian Cornish style houses, now interconnected and occupied as one single dwelling. Rectangular plan-form with a single staircase leading to first floor rooms within a mansard roof. Set within a square of seven two-storey cottage-style houses and adjoined to neighbouring property, No.4 The Square [HB05/03/014D] all positioned around three sides of an enclosed green, each block is linked at the corners by rendered arches containing painted timber gates. Built in 1912 to designs by Clough Williams-Ellis, a London-based architect. No's 2-3 are situated to the South-west side of the pillared entrance which contain a pair of iron gates, accessed from the Main Street.

White painted rendered walling having rendered quoins to the left side, all set on a plinth painted in contrasting colour; small-pane Georgian casement windows (one window has timber shutters painted in contrasting colour) incorporating a 'cottage' style expressed within the design of each facade; steeply pitching slated mansard roof with the lower slope punctured by dormer windows at a steeper angle than the upper; concrete ridge; two tall painted rendered chimney-stacks at mid-ridge having black painted clay pots and stepped cornices (left-side chimney stack has been rebuilt); deep overhanging eaves having exposed painted rafter tails which overhang the face of a wall; half-round cast-iron guttering discharging to circular section cast-iron downpipes.

Principal elevation faces North-east onto an enclosed green square, accessed via a paved footpath from the main front entrance pillars. No's 2-3 are situated at the 9-bay block parallel to the Main Street and perpendicular to each of the two-storey houses to the NW and SE sides of the The Square . A paved stone pathway from the main entrance gates leads to a painted panelled timber door on the left of the elevation, door has painted metal door furniture; (right-side front door disused); all set within a plain painted timber architrave surround. Facade has irregular fenestration pattern; 6-bays on ground floor consists of two doorways divided by square headed casement windows; ground floor bays are not aligned with slated dormers on first floor above.

South-east elevation overlooks rear yard of adjacent property No.1 The Square, consisting of two doorways each having a painted panelled timber door on ground and a single slated dormer window on first floor level.

South-west elevation consists of a small casement window to the right side, to the left are two double and a triple casement window on ground floor level aligned with slated dormers of the same above on first floor level. SW elevation overlooks a small garden to the rear, accessed from rendered gateway to the South corner of the building; there is a high timber fence dividing properties No's 2&3 and No.4.

North-west side is adjoined to neighbouring property No.4 The Square [HB05/03/014D].

Setting:
Situated within a planned square of seven white painted rendered two-storey houses, set around a bounding green behind a white painted rendered and stone wall. No's 2 & 3 are to the left side of the green within the 9-bay block, situated to the South-west side of The Square. Two two-storey blocks to either end of The Square, to the NW and SE sides are situated perpendicular to the 9-bay block enclosing The Square, each built as large dwellings with cottage elements, whilst the two-storey 9-bay building between them consists of five smaller dwellings (No’s 2-6). 'The Square' is accessed via a pair of circular painted rendered pillars with Iron gates just off the Main Street, all within a Conservation Area in the village of Cushendun, within close proximity to the River Dun, located within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Materials:
Roof: Natural Slate
RWGs: Cast-iron painted
Walling: White rendered
Windows: Timber small-pane Georgian-style

Historical information

Nos 1-7 The Square, a group of three two-storey Edwardian buildings arranged around a green in the centre of Cushendun village, was constructed in 1912 for Ronald John McNeill, the first (and only) Baron of Cushendun. The village, located along the River Dun, was developed from the early-19th century when travel across mainland Europe was cut off by the Napoleonic wars. Ireland became a popular destination for British tourists during this period, necessitating the development of new routes and hotels between Belfast and the picturesque sites along the Antrim Coast such as Dunluce Castle and the Giants Causeway. The previously isolated Glens of Antrim at once became accessible with the development of the Coastal Road between 1832 and 1842. Villages along the coast such as Cushendall and Cushendun were transformed from minor settlements into popular seaside resorts that soon became thronged with seasonal visitors. A number of summer houses (or ‘Bathing Lodges’) were constructed along the coast by city-based professionals and merchants, including the impressive residences of Glenmona Lodge and Glendun Lodge at Cushendun (Lewis; Bassett, p. 137; Cushendun Conservation Area Guides).

The Square in Cushendun was constructed in 1912 at the behest of Ronald John McNeill (1861-1934), a prominent local landowner and politician who resided at Glenmona Lodge with his wife Elizabeth Maud (d. 1925). Ronald McNeill was an outspoken Ulster Unionist who campaigned vigorously against Home Rule and served as a Unionist Member of Parliament. He held several important political offices including the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1922-25) and Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1925-27) and twice served as the British Representative to the League of Nations (McNeill signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact on behalf of the British Government in August 1928). McNeill’s residence of Glenmona Lodge was burned to the ground in 1922 as a result of his outspoken opposition of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Ronald John McNeill was created the First Baron Cushendun in 1927, however the title became extinct after his death in 1934 (ODNB).

Ronald John McNeill commissioned Sir. (Bertram) Clough Williams-Ellis (1883-1978) to design The Square. A London-based architect best known for the Italianate design of Portmeirion, a tourist village in Wales which he designed in stages between 1925 and 1975, Williams-Ellis was also responsible for the design of Maud Cottages (HB05/03/018), the redesign of Glenmona Lodge (HB05/03/020) in 1923-24, and the First Church of Christ (Scientist) in Belfast (HB26/27/058) which was erected in 1936-37 and is stylistically similar to Cushendun’s The Square. Ronald McNeill requested that Williams-Ellis design nos 1-7 The Square in a Cornish style for his Cornish-born wife Elizabeth Maud. The Square consists of three two-storey blocks; a pair of two-storey four-bay blocks to the south-east and north-west sides of the square were built as large individual dwellings (nos 1 and 7) whilst the two-storey nine-bay building between them contained five smaller dwellings (nos 2-6). Each of the seven dwellings possessed a mansard roof, Georgian-style glazing and tall chimney stacks. The buildings along The Square were first depicted on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1922 along their current layouts. An oval slate located in the central gable of the nine-bay block is inscribed with the date 1912 and the initials RMcN and MMcN (Ronald McNeill and Maud McNeill) (DIA; ODNB, UAHS Guide, p. 42).

Nos 2-3 The Square, a two-storey dwelling located at the nine-bay block on The Square, was constructed in 1912. The Annual Revisions note that the property was originally built as two dwellings; No. 2 was initially valued at £4 and was occupied by a Mr. James Redmond whilst the smaller No. 3 The Square was valued at £2 and 10 shillings and was first occupied by a Mr. Neill O’Neill. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) No. 2 The Square was occupied by the O’Drain family and was increased in value to £6 whilst the adjoining No. 3 had been raised in value to £5 and was the home of a Ms. Mary McAlister. The O’Drain and McAlister families continued to reside at the addresses by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value of No. 2 The Square stood at £11 whilst the value of No. 3 had been increased to £8 and 5 shillings; ownership of nos 1-7 The Square had passed to the National Trust in 1954.

In 1972 the UAHS Guide for the Glens of Antrim described The Square in the following terms: ‘Seven white-painted two-storey houses, set around three sides of an enclosed garden, with mansard roofs, Georgian glazing, and shutters, the blocks linked by arches at the corners’ (UAHS Guide, p. 42). Nos 1-7 The Square were listed in 1980. In that year the buildings were included in the Cushendun Conservation Area which was designated as a means of ‘protecting and enhancing the special qualities of the village.’ Field inspection of the site, carried out as part of the Second Survey, has found that the interior layout of nos 2-3 The Square has been significantly altered. The conversion of the two Edwardian dwellings into a single property included the removal of one of the original staircases and, although the building retains two entrance doors, only one is currently in use.

The NIEA HB Records do not record when the buildings were converted into a single address, however it was likely before 1987 (the neighbouring nos 5-6 The Square had underwent an identical conversion by at least that date). Nos 2-3 The Square underwent a general renovation in c. 2011 which included the reslating of its roof and the restoration of its windows (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/15/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1903-04)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/15/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1922)
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/8A-D – Annual Revisions (1864-1923)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/2/15D – Annual Revisions (1909-30)
5. PRONI VAL/12/E/25/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1909-c. 1935)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/5 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/11 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
9. Ulster Town Directories (1861-1918)
10. Bassett’s County Antrim: A guide and directory (1888)
11. First Survey Record – HB05/03/014 (1971)
12. NIEA HB Record – HB05/03/014B-C

Secondary Sources
1. Brett, C. E. B., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings and areas of architectural importance in the Glens of Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Co. Antrim’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1996.
3. ‘Cushendun Village Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1980.
4. ‘Cushendun Conservation Area’ Belfast: Department of the Environment, 1996 – includes Ordnance Survey Town Plan of 1922.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http:// www.dia.ie/
2. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - http:// www.oxforddnb.com/

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
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Z. Rarity
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations
V. Authorship

Evaluation

A pair of modest two-storey dormer four-bay Edwardian style houses. Originally built as two separate dwellings in 1912 to designs by Clough Williams-Ellis, a London-based architect. Set within a square of seven two-storey dormer houses, almost identical in design, No's 2 & 3 and its neighbouring properties exhibit much character externally, including distinctive multi-paned shuttered windows, mansard roofs and tall chimneys. No's 2 & 3 have been altered internally and converted into a single two-storey house occupied as one single dwelling. Internal alterations included the removal of one of the original staircases, although the buildings retain two entrance doors, only one door is currently in use. Commissioned by Ronald McNeill , the prominent Unionist Politician, the houses were designed in a Cornish ''cottage'' style for his Cornish-born wife Elizabeth Maud. Built before the First World War, ''The Square'' represents a break from the usual vernacular building traditions in Ulster. Situated in the heart of the Village the house has significant group value with its neighbouring properties on the square (HB05/03/014 A-G) and the nearby Maud Cottages (HB05/03/018) and Glenmona Lodge (HB05/03/020), also designed by Clough Williams-Ellis. It represents part of a significant phase of development in the village during the early 20th century.