Former Office Block

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey hipped-roofed building in stone, formerly an office building, with a single storey return to the rear.

Main entrance faces east. East elevation four windows wide to first floor; walls of snecked basalt roughly coursed, with tooled arrises to quoins; roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses; moulded cast iron gutter on projecting stone eaves course; windows rectangular timber sliding sash, 1 over 1, with horns, with rough timber framing for protective wire mesh tacked on; inside corners of top of frame coved except at extreme right hand windows to each floor; some damage to first and second windows from right on first floor. Window heads flat arch of shaped basalt voussoirs; sandstone cills; smooth cement render to window reveals. Ground floor has three windows similar to first floor; some rot to bottom of frames. Second opening from right is doorway, rectangular opening as windows; door new 6 panelled hardwood set in white painted timber framing with rectangular fanlight and narrow rectangular sidelights, glazing all replaced by plywood panels.

South elevation: four windows wide to first floor but extreme left hand opening now blocked with concrete blockwork and cill removed. Walls as entrance elevation but with modern lean-to loading bay attached to left hand side consisting of corrugated iron roof with timber fascia and PVC gutter and downpipe; cement render on south elevation at left hand side above attached lean-to. Windows rectangular timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 6 over 6, without horns. Ground floor window to right of doorway has security grille attached; ground floor window to left of doorway has timber panel nailed over lower sash; to left of that, a stone blocked opening of smaller size than previous windows is apparent. Roof as previous, with one chimney, rectangular, smooth cement rendered, later finish; one pot, not original; cast iron gutter as previous. Second opening from left at ground floor is doorway; segmental arched with granite voussoirs; 1868 datestone; reveals roughly cemented; double doors, ledged timber on large iron hinges, all original; ramped up step crudely fashioned in concrete. Loading bay attached to left hand end of building has concrete blockwork and cement rendered front with large rectangular steel roller doors, inappropriate addition; flush door approached by modern steel steps.

North elevation: five windows wide, all timber sliding sash, 1 over 1, with horns, all with timber framed security grilles attached; one chimney as south elevation, but no pots; cast iron gutter and one cast iron downpipe; gutter in poor condition and stone eaves course at left hand extremity damaged.

West elevation: right hand portion obscured by return block; cement render to wall above it. Two segmental arched openings to ground floor, partly reduced in width by later concrete block infill; one to left reduced in height by later concrete cill inserted above original cill, gap closed by blockwork. Window to left at ground floor, timber fixed light divided into 8 panes; security grille attached; window to right blocked up with cement and blockwork. At first floor, opening to left closed with red brick; opening to right glazed with 6-pane fixed light which has thick transom and mullions. To right, rear return in basalt rubble built over water course with segmental arches of varying size at base as outlets from submerged foundations of attached buildings to the west. Four window openings now closed up with brickwork; felt covered flat roof. West end of return has one window opening closed up to left of later rectangular cement dressed vehicular entrance with steel roller door facing concrete area linking with other buildings to west.

Setting: the former office building stands near the main entrance to an extensive bleach works alongside the Larne River on the western edge of the town, with a number of buildings of various dates extending beyond it to the west and to the south, of various dates, the industrial buildings generally in a poor state of repair, with some derelict and others ruinous.

The other buildings on the site area as follows:

The Bleach House adjoining south side of return of dated ‘1868’ office building: single-storey; basalt rubble walls with smooth cement render; corrugated asbestos roof; various openings to south side including one crudely broken through and temporarily blocked with corrugated iron. Projecting to east end a single-storey store room for acid, basalt rubble wall to north, cement rendered to east and south; later red brick dressings to large segmental arched opening; segmental profile to gables but re-roofed in corrugated metal of single pitch. Interior of the Bleach House: whitened walls; wide timber boards to floor with drainage spaces to foundations below; row of tall central whitened brick piers carrying wide timber trusses of shallow pitch from which are suspended wooden constructions to support linen threaded through ceramic ‘eyes’. At south end timber steps up to stone lined pits; at north end, short timber steps in damaged condition, up to mezzanine floor containing a row of iron boiling pots. The Bleach House appears to be of early 19th century date, at least, but with fittings and machinery probably of 20th century date.

Connected to the Bleach House to the west stands an extensive single-storey area, cement rendered to exterior, of no special architectural or historical interest. It extends at the south corner to abut a single-storey linear development parallel with the concrete lined open water channel next to the driveway: block to east, basalt walls, single storey, gabled, Bangor blue slated roof in regular courses, iron trusses; block to west, timber King posts, open water channel at west end of interior, all in poor condition. Projecting to east, a single-storey cement rendered toilet block.

Detached to south west, a long two-storey gabled block comprising the Grey Room to the east and the former Laundry to the west; basalt rubble walls roughly coursed, with square quoins; rectangular windows, large to ground floor, smaller to first floor; ground floor windows blocked on south side; east gable has large later vehicular access, cement dressed, with steel shutter door and bricked up opening to right; north elevation has later projections of no quality, and small paned sash windows in derelict condition; interior now missing intermediate floor; main feature large Queen post trusses.

To south, parallel with the Grey Room and former Laundry, a single-storey Boiler House: basalt rubble walls, gabled with segmental profile; east gable has three semi-circular openings, the central one blocked with render, other two closed with tongued and grooved sheeting incorporating doors; roof supported on Belfast trusses. Beyond lateral wall containing semi-circular openings, further Belfast trusses in section of building partly damaged by fire.

Standing further to west of Boiler House, tall red brick chimney, octagonal plan, tapering, with small red brick single-storey building at base; evidence of fire destruction to adjacent buildings.

Detached standing to east of Boiler House, a single-storey gabled building, a Workshop: basalt rubble walls but red brick to west end and south wall; segmental roof covered with felt; east end exposed following removal of later end bay, revealing basalt cross wall with red brick dressings to two bricked up openings.

Detached to south beyond Boiler House, a group of derelict stone buildings, beginning at west end with a two-storey gabled building in basalt rubble, roughly coursed, with roughly squared quoins; four windows wide to first floor on north front, timber fixed lights of 12 panes with thin glazing bars; three windows with remnants of glazing; one filled with wooden louvers. To ground floor, three windows timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 6 over 6, without horns, all derelict; rectangular doorway; derelict interior, partly unroofed, but two large King post trusses still in position; south elevation overgrown. Extending to east a ruinous basalt link block now missing most of first floor, crumbling yellow brick heads to ground floor windows with jambs of thin red brick, all later insertions; windows in derelict state, originally timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 8 over 8, without horns. At east end, two and three-storey building in basalt rubble, returning to south; derelict, with intermediate floors missing, and overgrown on outside.

Detached, standing to south of that, a ruinous three-storey building of rectangular plan; basalt rubble with dressed stones at corners; traces of harling; rectangular window openings with flat arched heads of shaped voussoirs but either blocked up with concrete blocks or now left open; roofless.

Detached, standing to south east of that, at Mill Road gateway to site, a two-storey basalt rubble building, gabled, with squared quoins, on a segmental arched basement storey; building formerly derelict but now re-roofed with new floors inserted and modern replacement windows in hardwood not to original glazing pattern; abutting north west corner, retaining wall of basalt rubble to driveway from Mill Road.

Detached just to south of dated ‘1868’ office building, a two-storey house of mid-19th century date: five windows wide to entrance front; gabled; slated roof with Bangor blue slates in regular courses; red brick chimneys; walls rendered, lined and blocked; windows to timber sliding sash with horns; plain rectangular doorway; stairway with later metal balustrading; only feature of interest a segmental headed window to main room on ground floor which has simple Art Nouveau patterns in leaded coloured glass to toplights; interior otherwise bereft of architectural interest.

Historical information

Erected in 1868 as an office block for the bleach works of Thomas Barklie and William Eccles. Bleach works originally established c. 1766 by Thomas Barklie of Cogry, Doagh; taken over c 1800 by his sons John Barklie and Archibald Barklie; and then again in 1861 by Archibald’s son Thomas along with William Eccles. The early buildings containing the machinery were described in 1840 as “permanently built of stone and slated” and comprised one of 3 storeys, 52 feet by 30 feet 3 inches with a high breast wheel 11 feet in diameter; one of two storeys, 36 feet by 21 feet, with a high breast wheel 11 feet in diameter; a wash house 51 by 27 feet with high breast wheel 11 by 7 feet; lapping house of two storeys, 48 by 21 feet; boiling house of two storeys, 27 by 27 feet including a part one storey high; carpenter’s shop of three storeys, 41 by 21 feet; and storehouse of two storeys, 52 by 27 feet. No wheels now exist but some of the early buildings survive in part although not easily identifiable. The rear return to the office block and the Bleach house block both indicated as ruins on the OS map of 1893. Sold by the Barklie family c 1924; eventually taken over by the Bleachers Association; taken over by the present occupants in 1981.

References - Primary

1. Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: Parishes of County Antrim X, Vol 26 (Belfast, 1994), p 54.
2. OS Map 1832, Co Antrim 40.
3. OS Map 1857, Co Antrim 40.
4. OS Map 1893, Co Antrim 40.
5. G.H. Bassett, The Book of Antrim (Dublin, 1888), p 379.

Secondary

1. IHR 5593

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A mid-19th century industrial building connected with a site of some local interest. It displays handsome proportions externally and an impressive roof structure internally, but its architectural value has been decreased by insensitive later additions to the exterior and alterations to the interior.