Lodge and council cemetery

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Mildly picturesque single storey hipped and gabled limestone and brick cemetery gate lodge of 1882 by Samuel P. Close, now converted to a public WC with E façade altered in process. The lodge is set on the N side of a council cemetery adjacent to the Straidkilly Road, on the N side of Glenarm.

The lodge is built of semi-coursed, roughly squared, white limestone with yellow / cream brick dressings. To the N (Straidkilly Road side) is a simple gabled section with overhanging eaves while to the S is a large hipped roof portion with a small lean-to section.

The front (W) elevation is asymmetric. To the right is a timber sheeted door set within a segmental arched opening. The opening has in-out brick dressings (as do all original openings). The dressings to the right side merge with the quoins to the corner of the building. To the left of the doorway is a large hipped roof projection. The W face of this has paired plain sash windows. The S face has one centred plain sash window. The N face merges with the gabled section but most of the face is obscured by a small lean-to projection. The N face of the lean-to is blank while the W face has a small window and the E face has a timber sheeted door. The right side of the N face of the hipped roof section is blank.

The E elevation has two relatively recent openings each comprising of a sheeted door to the right and a modern window to the left. The openings have rendered dressings The doors lead into male and female public toilets.

The S elevation consists of the S face of the hipped roof section to left (see above) and a large gabled bay to right. The bay has two plain sash windows, as before. To the centre of the gable is a simple slate shield shaped panel inscribed with the date 1882.

The roof is covered with natural slate. Cast iron rw goods. Verges are overhanging with plain bargeboards and exposed purlin ends. There is a small timber finial to the apex of each gable. Eaves overhang and have exposed rafter ends. To the centre of the ridge on the hipped roof is a brick chimneystack.

The cemetery to the N and W of the lodge is filled with many late 19th, 20th and 21st century headstones. The cemetery is surrounded by a low random (limestone) rubble wall to the E and N with a much lower (basalt) wall with simple iron railings to the S. Square basalt gate screen piers with pyramidal caps.

Historical information

This caretaker’s lodge was built in 1882, with surrounding cemetery laid out at the same time. Documents within the Antrim Papers at PRONI suggest that the lodge was designed by Samuel P. Close. Much of the building was converted to a public WC some time prior to late 1973.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.2977/37/3/1/3A Antrim Papers Plans and elevations of the caretaker’s house, and details of the gates and railings at the new cemetery, Glenarm- architect Samuel P. Close, 1882
2 PRONI OS/6/1/29/3 OS map, Co Antrim sh 29, 1903

Secondary sources
1 J.A.K. Dean ‘The gate lodges of Ulster- a gazetteer’ (Belfast 1994), p.15

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Mildly picturesque, single storey hipped and gabled limestone and brick cemetery gate lodge of 1882 by Samuel P. Close, now converted to a public WC with E façade altered in process. The lodge was built as a caretaker’s residence for the surrounding cemetery, laid out at the same date. Not of special architectural or historic interest.