260 Antrim Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached symmetrical single-storey two-bay stuccoed former gate lodge, built c.1850, to the designs of Sir Charles Lanyon, with curved entrance screen immediately adjacent to north (HB26/44/027B). Cruciform on plan facing east with extension to southwest. Located on a corner site between Antrim Road and Brookvale Avenue at the southeast corner of Waterworks Park, also known as Queen Mary's Gardens.

Hipped natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles, lead valleys and central rendered profiled chimney stack with single terracotta pot. Replacement moulded metal guttering to overhanging eaves course supported on decorative paired brackets and metal downpipes. Painted ruled-and-lined rendered walling with painted quoins, splayed plinth course and continuous plat band at impost level. Round-headed window openings with plain raised surrounds, bracketed moulded sills and single-pane timber sash windows or timber casement windows with decorative cast-iron grilles.

Front elevation has a central advanced entrance porch having round-headed door opening with steel-sheet fixed to outer face of timber panelled door. Fanlight above door, plain rendered surround with scrolled keystone and slender lozenge-shaped sidelights with flat decorative surrounds. To the cheeks of the porch are round-headed window openings with single-pane timber sash windows and iron grilles. To the recessed bays are slender round-headed window openings with single-pane timber sash windows and iron grilles.

South side elevation has a Venetian window opening with round-headed central opening flanked by lower square-headed openings on continuous sill with iron grilles. The central opening is surmounted by a hood cornice supported on oversized scrolled console brackets. The remainder of this elevation is abutted by flat-roofed red brick extension on a rectilinear plan.

Single-bay rear W elevation fronts onto enclosed rear yard with a single square-headed window opening having fixed-pane timber window and iron grille. Rear yard enclosed by tall red brick wall laid in English Garden Wall bond with moulded curved brick coping, that steps in response to the sloping site.

North side elevation detailed as per south elevation and fronting into enclosed side garden.

Setting:
Located at the southeast corner of Waterworks Park enclosed by elaborate cast-iron railings set on low sandstone plinth wall with matching pedestrian gate hung on square cast-iron piers with scrolled finials. The small garden to the north is enclosed by plain iron railings and matching pedestrian gate. Adjacent to the north is a curved park entrance screen with decorative cast-iron railings (matching those to the lodge) and matching iron gates hung on square red brick pillars with moulded concrete capstones (c.1930). The historic railings and stone plinth wall continue along the Antrim Road frontage to the park(HB26/44/027B).

Roof: Natural slate
RWG: Replacement metal
Walling: Painted ruled-and-lined stucco
Windows: Timber sash / timber casement

Historical information

No. 260 Antrim Road, a single-storey cruciform Italianate gate lodge located at the south-east entrance to the Belfast Waterworks, was constructed in c. 1850 and has been attributed to Sir. Charles Lanyon. The Antrim Road was originally laid out in 1830. The contemporary first edition Ordnance Survey map (1832-33) records that the land on which the Belfast Waterworks was built was originally predominantly rural in character and was the site of a number of dwellings (including Solitude House) which were subsequently demolished to make way for the construction of the new reservoirs.

Royle states that Belfast’s earliest piped water supply had been established in 1678 (utilising wooden pipes) and by the 18th century the city drew its water supply from a variety of sources including artificial reservoirs, local springs and barrels delivered on horse drawn carts. By the early-19th century Belfast’s water supply was outstripped by the demands placed upon it by a rapidly increasing local population. In 1840 responsibility for the city water supply was transferred to the Belfast Water Commissioners under the Belfast Water Act. Amongst the new measures enacted by the commissioners was the establishment of a new reservoir on the Antrim Road.

The reservoir was constructed between 1840 and 1842 and was fed by springs at Cave Hill and by a stream at Carr’s Glen. William Dargan, Irish Engineer and railway entrepreneur was appointed as engineer for the works. Two ponds were constructed; the middlle (town) basin and the upper clearwater basin. The first connected houses were supplied with water from the reservoir on the Antrim Road (through cast iron pipes) in 1842. The Water Commissioners did not anticipate the great increase in the local population during the mid-19th century. In 1852 a consultant water engineer John F. Bateman estimated the demand from the Waterworks to be 2 million gallons per day but the reservoir could supply only a quarter of this in 1855.

There were conflicts over public access to the waterworks site during mid-19th century. The Water Commissioners had employed 'Watchmen' at the boundary of the waterworks with police protection or alternatively 'twopenny horns' to blow loudly at trespassers. Eventually the Commissioners allowed access to the grounds to anyone willing to sign a book at the entrance gate and undertake to abide by the rules for visitors posted in the hall of the gate lodge. The Belfast Waterworks continued to be utilised as a reservoir but was superseded in the late-19th century by the supply of fresh water from sources in the Mourne Mountains (Royle, pp 27-28). Recreational water events and galas were staged in the water reservoirs on the Antrim Road in the 1880s and 1890s.

In 1930 plans were implemented to landscape the small area to the north of the clearwater basin at the juction of the Antrin Road and the Cavehill Road. The works included tennis courts, playground, drinking fountain and flagpole. The site was opened by the Lady Mayoress on 8th July 1931 and named Queen Mary's Gardens (the month of June is engraved into the iron-work above the gate). It is reported that during the 1940s as part of early war preparations, including the collection of scrap metal, Queen Mary's Gardens lost both their railings and gates.

The waterworks was a venue for aquatic galas up to 1960s including diving, swimming, boating and model yacht racing. A minature railway ran along the perimeter of Queen Mary's Gardens and the north boundary of the upper reservoir. The Commissioners introduced a system of key access to the parks in mid 1950s, with keyholders paying annual subscription. The Belfast Reservoir Angler's Association had fishing rights to the reservoirs and made day tickets avaialable to the public.

The property was transferred to Belfast Corporation on 1st May 1956. The Corporation reduced the depth of both reservoirs from 1958 onwards for safety reasons. In 1966 the Corporation developed an ambitious plan to provide a 'Pleasure Resort' on the site, incorporating an area for adult boating and fishing in the upper pond, an area for children's bathing and model yachting in the lower pond, changing accommodation, a waterfall and a tea garden. The first phase incorporating the waterfall area was the only local authority project in the UK to be awarded a commendation in the Civic Awards Scheme in 1969. In 1971 the Corporation commissioned the installation of a floral clock in the waterworks by building contractor's James Ritchie & Son of Edinburgh. This was transfered to the grounds of City Hall in 1976 as it had been subject to vandalism on the Antrim Road site.

The gate lodge at the south-east entrance to the Belfast Waterworks was constructed in c. 1850 and has been attributed to Sir. Charles Lanyon. An English architect and engineer, Lanyon (1813-1889) was County Surveyor for Antrim and carried out a number of important engineering works in and around Belfast in the mid-19th century. The Dictionary of Irish Architects records that Lanyon was responsible for the construction of the Antrim Coast Road (between Larne and Ballycastle) and the Glendun viaduct. Royle states that in 1855 Lanyon provided recommendations to the Belfast Water Commissioners on how to increase the supply of the Waterworks on the Antrim Road to over a million gallons. Lanyon may have designed the porter’s lodge at the Antrim Road entrance to the Waterworks at this time. Dean believed that Lanyon was responsible for the design recording that the lodge closely followed the architect’s ‘Baroque Italianate style which he also employed at Dunderave, Moneyglass and Eglantine [and] on the side gables the architect’s distinctive stepped Venetian window which also featured on his demolished curator’s house at Stranmillis and at Muckamore Villa (DIA; Royle, p. 28; Dean, p. 30).

The porter’s lodge was first depicted on the second edition Ordnance Survey map for Belfast (1858) which depicted it as a T-shaped structure (the building did not gain its current cruciform layout until the mid-20th century). The contemporary Griffith’s Valuation (1859) jointly valued the lodge along with an ice house and curator’s house (now demolished) at £30. There was little change to the lodge over the following century and the later editions of the Ordnance Survey maps (1901-38) depicted no change to its original layout. The Belfast Street Directories noted that a Mr. A. Gilmour was caretaker of the Waterworks and resided at the lodge in 1860 (UTD). Following the discovery of water sources in the Mourne Mountains a public meeting was held in 1897 to ascertain what would be done with the (now redundant) Waterworks. In 1899 the Water Commissioners allocated the site for leisure use and since that time the site has been utilised as a public park (Belfast City Council).

By 1901 the lodge was occupied by John Lindsay who was employed as the caretaker of the Waterworks and park. In that year the census building return described the lodge as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of four rooms. In the 1930s the caretaker was a Mr. John Ryan and under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the rateable value of the gate lodge was increased to £13. The single-storey extension was added to the west side of the building by at least 1957 (when it was depicted on the Ordnance Survey map for the area) giving the lodge its current cruciform shaped. The building continued to be occupied as a dwelling until at least the 1970s and by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the rateable value of the lodge was combined with all the other structures in the park at £320.

The gate lodge at the Belfast Waterworks was listed in 1987. The NIEA HB Records note that in 1990-91 the vacant former porter’s lodge was converted into a retail shop and underwent a restoration. The building lay empty once more by 2003 when it was underwent an extensive refurbishment which converted the structure into modern office premises (NIEA HB Records).

During discussions with NIEA, the current owner confirmed that the lodge originally had two doors, which dates back to the time when patrons had to pay to enter the park. This is clear in the image included in Dean's book, which shows a door to the N facing elevation that opens on to the park and sits 90 degrees to the entrance door on the E facing proch that opens on to the Antrim Road. The system of charging was later abolished c.1960.

Resources

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1832-33)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02)
4. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1931)
5. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938)
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/7/3E-H – Griffith’s Valuation (1859)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/C/1-25 – Annual Revisions (1860-1905)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/F/4-7 – Annual Revisions (1905-1930)
9. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/3- First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-56)
10. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/5 - Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
11. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1943)
12. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
13. Ordnance Survey Map – 130-9 (1952-57)
14. First Survey Record – HB26/44/027 (No Date)
15. NIEA HB Records – HB26/44/027

Secondary Sources
1. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.
2. Royle, S. A., ‘Portrait of an industrial city – Changing Belfast: 1750-1914’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2011.
3.Scott, R, 'A breath of fresh air - The story of Belfast's parks', The Blackstaff Press.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie
2. Belfast City Council website - http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/leisure/parks-openspaces/Park-6881.aspx

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

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Detached symmetrical single-storey two-bay stuccoed former gate lodge, built c.1850, most likely to the designs of Sir Charles Lanyon, with park entrance screen and railings to north (HB26/44/027B). Lanyon's signature Baroque Italianate style is clearly evident here and many similarities are drawn by Dean, a respected expert on the subject, to his other gate lodges in Ulster. Originally 'T' shaped on plan, it was built as a porter's lodge to the Water Works where two large reservoirs were developed by 1842 to provide fresh water to the city. This water source did not meet the demands of the growing population, however, and by 1899 the Water Commissioners allocated the park for leisure. By 1901 the lodge was used as a dwelling and an abutment to the West was added by 1957. While the interior has been substantially altered, the exterior of this decorative lodge retains much of its original character. Now in use as a commercial premises, the building continues to address the park and provides an important visual amenity. The historic cast iron railings and gate screens, which span most of Antrim Road frontage (HB26/44/027B), have group value the gate lodge.