Buildings at 'John Erskine Ltd. Felt Manufacturers'

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Description at February 2007: The three buildings with Belfast roof trusses have been demolished and the site cleared.

Description at February 2002: Group of three single storey Belfast Truss-roofed factory buildings built at various dates between 1918 and c.1935, of various size and materials, the largest of the three in brick with a ‘triple’ roof and the other two largely in corrugated metal. The buildings are located within a large felt manufacturing complex to the E of Shore Road, Newtownabbey.

Building 1
The largest of the three buildings is set to the immediate E of the main factory building and dates from 1918. It is rectangular in plan measuring roughly 38m x 22 and is abutted by smaller structures to the N, S and E. The façade is entirely in brick and devoid of openings save for a large vehicle entrance to the N with a timber sliding door, and a similar entrance directly in line with this to the S. The roof is a triple curved structure covered in felt with a central gabled roof light with corrugated Perspex to the centre of each curve.

Building 2
This building lies a few metres to the E of Building 1 and dates from some time prior to 1920 (possibly c.1915). It is long and rectangular in plan, measuring roughly 8.2m in width and over three times this in length. It is constructed in corrugated metal with a small sections to the left hand side of the W elevation and the right hand side of E elevation in brick and the lower portion of the S gable in concrete block. The W elevation itself has a pedestrian door to the left of centre with three very large unevenly-spaced multi-pane windows. The S gable has a similar style, full-width window. The E elevation has a similar window which stretches over the entire left hand side and centre.

The curved roof is covered in felt. The building is in relatively poor condition.

Building 3
This building lies a few metres to the E of Building 2 and is believed to date from around 1935. It is rectangular in plan measuring roughly 16.7m in width and constructed in corrugated metal with sections in timber and much of the base in render. The front (W) gable has a pedestrian doorway to left with a very large window (in same style as Building 2) to right of this. To right again is a very large vehicle doorway with sheeted sliding door. To the S elevation there is another (slightly smaller) vehicle doorway to left with three large windows (much as before) to right of this. The other elevations were not accessible but internal evidence shows that the E gable was a large window open (as before) to right. The curved roof is covered in felt

The large main factory building to the W end of the site contains at least three Belfast Truss-roofed sections. These sections are now surrounded by other pitched roof sections as the whole complex has grown ‘organically’ over the years. The owner stated that he believed some of the Belfast Trussed-roof sections dated from the mid 1890s, but that they had been heightened at some point during the mid 1900s.

Historical information

The Belfast truss was developed in the mid-nineteenth century to meet the demand for efficient, lightweight and long span roofs brought about by the industrial revolution. A detailed description of the historical development of the Belfast truss is included in the record for HB18/08/139. In brief, the first known reference to a curved wooden felted roof structure supported by bowstring girders is in an advertisement in the Dublin Builder for 1866 by the Belfast firm of felt-makers, McTear & Co. McTear’s continued making trusses until they went out of business in 1908.

A second Belfast felt supplier, Anderson & Co., began to produce trusses, to a slightly different design, in 1886. In 1896, Anderson’s launched their Mk II version; promoted as maximising long spans whilst maintaining light weight. This model was subsequently used by other companies, and is referred to by historians as the Belfast truss, although this term is widely used to apply to all timber bowstring trusses where the internal bracing members meet not on the bottom of the truss as was the convention but on the top curved member.

According to the present owner there has been a factory on this site since c.1890 which (under the name of ‘The Northern Counties Asphalte Co.’) was producing Belfast Truss Roofs by c.1920 at least. Many of the original factory buildings themselves had Belfast Truss roofs. The owner stated that Building 1 dated from 1918, Building 2 from ‘before 1920’ (possibly c.1915) and Building 3 from c.1935. Building 1 is still used as regularly as a store, however Buildings 2 and 3 whilst latterly serving as stores are no longer in regular use.

The 3 buildings containing Belfast roof trusses were demolished towards the end of 2006.

1 Information supplied by the current owner (February 2003)
2 Information supplied by the current owner (February 2007)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Evaluation at February 2007: The three buildings with Belfast roof trusses have been demolished and the site cleared.

Evaluation at February 2002: A group of three single storey Belfast truss roofed factory buildings, built between 1918 and 1935, and located within a large factory complex. These buildings were used as stores and workshops for the felt manufacturing business carried out on the site.

Building 1 is the largest of the group. Built in 1918, it is rectangular in plan measuring some 38m x 22m. A series of three open spaces, it is constructed solely of brick with single large openings to the north and the south. The roof is a triple curved structure, felted, with gabled roof lights, and comprising in total twenty-one Belfast trusses, seven in each bay.

Building 2, a few metres east of Building 1, was built c.1915. Constructed of corrugated metal on a metal frame with some brick and concrete block infill, the elevations are characterised by large, multi-pane windows. The felted roof comprises nine Belfast trusses.

Building 3, adjacent to Building 2, was built c.1935. Constructed of corrugated metal on a metal frame with some timber cladding, the elevations are also characterised by large glazed openings. The felted roof comprises seven Belfast trusses.

Though individually each of these buildings would not merit listing, groups of moderately sized Belfast truss roof buildings such as this have been shown by the thematic survey to be scarce. This group has additional historic interest in that the ‘Northern Counties Asphalte Co.’ is recorded as manufacturing Belfast trusses on the site in the early twentieth century, with the manufacture of felt, the traditional form of roof covering for Belfast trusses, being carried on at this location until recently.

General comments

Surveyed as part of the Belfast Roof Truss survey.