4 THE SQUARE,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey three-bay white painted Edwardian style house. 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 properties, No's 2&3 and No's 5&6 The Square [HB05/03/014B-D/E-F]. 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. 4 is situated at the centre of the 9-bay block, 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 a two-storey projecting central bay with a pitched roof extending to the mansard roof of the main block; set on a plinth painted in contrasting colour; small-pane Georgian casement windows (first floor window on two-storey projecting central bay has timber shutters painted in contrasting colour) incorporating a 'cottage' style expressed within the design of the facade; steeply pitching slated mansard roof to main section on either side of central bay has dormer windows on the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper; concrete ridge to main slated mansard roof and pitched roof ; two tall painted rendered chimney-stacks at mid-ridge having black painted clay pots and stepped cornices; deep overhanging eaves to main mansard roof having exposed painted rafter tails which overhang the face of a wall; half-round cast-iron guttering discharging to circular section cast-iron downpipes at either end of 9-bay block.

Principal elevation faces North-east onto an enclosed green square, accessed via a paved footpath from the main front entrance pillars. No. 4 is situated parallel to the Main Street and perpendicular to each of the two-storey houses to the NW and SE sides. A paved stone pathway from the main entrance gates leads to a semicircular arched doorway containing a painted panelled timber door with small multi-pane upper lights and painted metal door furniture; there is an elliptical-shaped stone plaque above the first floor window on the central bay with the inscription 'RMN MDCCCCXII MMN'; on either side of the central bay there is a double-casement window on ground floor aligned with slated dormer bays on first floor above.

North-west and South-east elevations are adjoined to neighbouring properties No's 2&3 and 5&6 The Square [HB05/03/014B&E].

South-west elevation overlooks a small paved yard and garden to the rear; irregular fenestration pattern consisting of a double casement windows to either side of a single doorway having a painted panelled timber door, to the right side is a single casement window; two slated dormers to mansard roof above not aligned with bays on ground floor level.

Setting:
Situated within a planned square of seven white painted rendered Edwardian style two-storey houses, set around a bounding green behind a white painted rendered and stone wall. No. 4 is situated at the cente of the 9-bay block, situated to the South-west side of The Square. There are two two-storey blocks to either end of The Square, to the NW and SE sides, 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: 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).

No. 4 The Square, the two-storey three-bay dwelling located at the centre of the nine-bay block on The Square, was constructed in 1912 and was initially valued at £7. The first tenant of the building was a Ms. Margaret Hamilton who continued to be recorded as occupant until 1930. The McKendry family had occupied the site by the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which decreased the value of the building to £5. In 1947 No. 4 The Square was occupied by a Ms. Kathleen McNeill who remained at the address until the 1970s. Ownership of nos 1-7 The Square passed to the National Trust in 1954 and by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of No. 4 stood at £17 and 10 shillings.

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.’

The NIEA HB Records note that No. 4 The Square underwent a general renovation in c. 1987 which included repairs to its chimneys and the replacement of its entrance door. A second renovation was carried out in c. 2011 and involved 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 – HB05/03/014D

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
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

Two-storey three-bay part dormer Edwardian style house, built 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. 4 is the centrepiece of the square with a slightly projecting two storey gable at the front. Along with its neighbouring properties it exhibits much character externally, including distinctive multi-paned shuttered windows, mansard roofs and tall chimneys. 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.