5 Glenmore Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

End of terrace three-bay two-storey redbrick house, built c.1860. T-shaped on plan including two-storey return, facing south, set back slightly to the north side of Mill Street with enclosed front and rear gardens.

Pitched natural slate roof with three wall-head dormers, round black clay ridge tiles and lead valleys. Redbrick chimneystacks with clay pots, deep overhanging eaves, with decorative timber bargeboards to east gable and to dormers with tall finials. Plastic rainwater goods. Redbrick walling laid in Flemish bond and projecting plinth course. Ogee-arched and square-headed window openings with original timber sash windows and painted masonry sills.

Three-bay symmetrical 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 openings to ground floor with original 6/6 timber sash windows. Round-headed central door opening formed in polychromatic brick with painted masonry surround comprising moulded archivolt and flat-panelled pilasters. Replacement timber panelled door flanked by two pairs of slender timber pilasters with console brackets supporting stepped lintel cornice and plain glazed semi-circular fanlight over. Door opens onto tiled step and concrete footpath through front lawn enclosed to road by rubblestone wall with painted stone coping and pair of rebuilt brown brick piers with moulded concrete capstones supporting iron pedestrian gate.

West abutted by No.4 (HB19/17/16D)

Multi-bay rear elevation abutted by narrow two-storey rendered return to the centre. Square-headed window openings with some uPVC windows and some recent replacement timber sash windows. uPVC glazed door to the east cheek of return opening onto flight of concrete steps.

Blank east gable of rubble basalt walling with redbrick to chimney flue and side parking area accessed via vehicular opening to the east, enclosed to the road by tall rubble basalt wall with stacked coping.

Roof Natural slate
Walling Redbrick /rubble basalt
Windows Original timber sash
RWG Plastic

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 occupiers are Samuel Smith, Thomas Ramsey, Robert Edmundson, Robert Longquill and the fifth 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. 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
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

End of terraced three-bay two-storey redbrick house, built c.1860. One of a terrace of five similar houses, this three-bay end of terrace is larger than the remainder and differs slightly in its detailing, but retains good proportions and interesting Gothick windows to the first floor. Built for the overseers at Barbour Thread Mill, 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