4 Glenmore Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Terraced 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 chimneystacks with clay pots, deep overhanging eaves, with decorative timber bargeboards to dormers with tall finials. Ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering and cast-iron downpipe. Redbrick walling laid in Flemish bond with cement pointing and projecting plinth course. Ogee-arched and square-headed window openings with original timber sash windows, cylinder glass and painted masonry sills.

Two-bay front elevation having pair of wall-head dormers with ogee-arched window openings formed in polychromatic brick with original 3/3 timber sash window incorporating gothic tracery to the upper sash. Square-headed window to ground floor with original 6/6 timber sash window. Square-headed door opening to the right with plain painted masonry surround containing original flat-panelled timber door with original rectangular overlight having margin lights and cylinder glass. Door opens onto original nosed sandstone step and clay tiled footpath through front garden enclosed to the road by low rubblestone wall with painted stone coping and pair of redbrick piers with ogee sandstone capstones supporting iron pedestrian gate.

West abutted by No.3 (HB19/17/16C)

Multi-bay rough-cast rendered rear elevation abutted by narrow two-storey rendered return. Single wall-head dormer to rear, as per front elevation, with square-headed window openings to remainder and return having original timber sash windows.

Small rear yard enclosed by tall rendered wall and timber sheeted door opening onto two concrete steps to the common rear area and garden to north.

East abutted by No.5 (HB19/17/16E)

Roof Natural slate
Walling Redbrick
Windows Original 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 occupier of the present house is Thomas Ramsey and the end terrace (HB19/17/16A) 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 occupier is Thomas Cummins 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
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

Terraced two-bay two-storey redbrick house, built c.1860. One of a terrace of five similar houses, built for the overseers at Barbour Thread Mill, this terraced house retains its original external appearance including the original ogee-headed windows complete with cylinder glass and an original panelled front door with overlight. With most original fabric retained, this house contributes significantly to the appearance of the terrace as a whole. 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