1 Glenmore Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

End of terrace two-bay two-storey redbrick house, built c.1860. L-shape on plan including two-storey return, facing south, set back slightly to the north side of Mill Street with enclosed front garden.

Pitched natural slate roof with pair of wall-head dormers, round black clay ridge tiles and lead valleys. Redbrick chimneystack with clay pots to west, deep overhanging west gable with decorative timber bargeboards, repeated to the front dormers with tall finials. Ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering and cast-iron downpipe. Redbrick walling laid in Flemish bond with cement pointing. Ogee-arched and square-headed window openings with replacement timber sash windows and painted masonry sills.

Two-bay front elevation having pair of wall-head dormers with ogee-arched window openings formed in polychromatic brick with replacement 3/3 timber sash window incorporating gothic tracery to the upper sash. Former landscape window opening to ground floor reversed c.1985, with portrait square-headed window reinstated including 6/6 timber sash window. Square-headed door opening to the right with plain painted masonry surround containing replacement flat-panelled timber door with rectangular overlight having margin lights. Door opening onto tiled step and footpath through front garden enclosed to the road by low rubblestone wall with concrete coping and redbrick piers with replacement concrete capstones supporting iron pedestrian gate.

Blank west gable built in rubble basalt and redbrick, now heavily ivy-clad. Gravel lane runs along the gable giving vehicular rear access to entire terrace.

Multi-bay rear elevation, built in rubble basalt to the ground floor, redbrick to the first floor. Rear abutted by narrow two-storey redbrick return. Single wall-head dormer to rear, as per front elevation, with enlarged square-headed patio door opening below having replacement timber glazed doors and surround. Various timber sash windows to return and first half-landing. Patio area enclosed by redbrick wall with concrete steps opening onto common vehicular area and rear garden to north.

East abutted by No.2 (HB19/17/16B)

Roof Natural slate
Walling Redbrick
Windows Replacement timber sash
RWG Cast-iron

Historical information

The houses are not shown on the second edition OS map of 1858. However, they are listed in Griffith’s Valuation of 1856-64 which gives them a probable date of construction of c1860. They are listed as a terrace of five houses, four of which are valued at £8.5s and the easternmost of which is larger than the rest and is therefore valued at £11.10s. The current house is unoccupied, suggesting perhaps that the houses have recently been built. They are all leased from Richardson Sons and Owden, linen manufacturers and appear to be houses designed for members of the workforce at Glenmore Bleach Works situated to the north. As the houses are larger and of finer quality than others in ‘Richardsons Row’, ‘Bridge Street’ and ‘Mill Street’ it can be surmised that these were houses intended for overseers or foremen. By 1867 the current house is occupied by James Browne but unfortunately later Annual Revisions notebooks for this area are missing.

According to Rankin, the Richardsons were one of the oldest linen families in the North of Ireland, settling here in the early seventeenth century. Shortly after their arrival they became Quakers, in common with some other important linen families in the north and, as Quakers were actively discouraged from marrying outside their sect, they tended to intermarry with these other families. John Richardson (1719-59) married the daughter of William Hogg who had a bleach green at Glenmore. Their son Jonathan Richardson (1756-1851) bought a further bleach green at Glenmore belonging to the Hunter family and was the first in the linen bleaching industry to succeed at winter bleaching which meant he was able to run his works all year round. The business increased substantially and in 1830 the family bought a further, adjoining, bleach green and amalgamated it into their works. Jonathan had three sons, James, John and Joseph who presided over the growth and success of the business. The eldest son James took as a partner, John Owden and founded the company of J.N. Richardson, Sons & Owden. He increasingly left the management of the business to Mr Owden and died in 1847, having purchased Lambeg House and renamed it Glenmore in 1835. His eldest son Jonathan retained a financial interest in the company but was little involved in its day to day running, cultivating the life of a country gentleman at Glenmore. It seems that Mr Owden is more likely to have been the prime mover behind the construction of Glenmore Terrace. Jonathan’s brother, John Grubb Richardson, purchased an estate in County Armagh where he built the model village of Bessbrook with its large spinning and weaving mills that worked in conjunction with the Glenmore Bleach works. A constant concern was shown by the Richardsons for the social and moral welfare of their workers, and this concern extended to providing good-quality housing. (Rankin 2002, p.86-96, Rankin 2007, p.161)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/64/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1901
2. PRONI OS/6/1/64/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-1
3. PRONI OS/6/1/64/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1920-31
4. PRONI OS/6/1/64/6 – Sixth Edition OS Map 1920-39
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/59 – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/7A-D – Annual Revisions (1867-1929)

Secondary Sources

1. Rankin, K “The Linen Houses of the Lagan Valley, The story of their families” Belfast, Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002
2. Rankin, K “The Linen Houses of the Bann Valley, The story of their families” Belfast, Ulster Historical Foundation, 2007

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

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

One of a terrace of five similar houses, built for the overseers at Barbour Thread Mill, this end of terrace house retains its original external appearance with many interesting architectural elements to both the exterior and interior, in particular the Gothick windows to the first floor. The fine wrought iron gate and boundary walling add interest. The terrace is rare survivor of this style and each house has group value with the other listed houses in this terrace.

General comments

Previoulsy recorded as HB19/17/016