Waterworks Park

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Decorative cast-iron railings and gates and curved entrance screen to east boundary of Waterworks Park, Antrim Road. Park railings are adjacent to former gate lodge and railings at 260 Antrim Road (HB26/44/027A). Curved entrance screen immediately north of lodge with decorative cast-iron railings (matching those to the lodge) and matching iron gates hung on square red brick pillars with moulded concrete capstones. The historic railings and stone plinth wall continue along the Antrim Road frontage to the park, interspersed with the same red brick pillars, before terminating with a set of gates in the same style. The railings then change in character to 20th century painted cast metal with plain uprights and no finials, on a reconstituted stone plinth c. 1930. To the NE entrance at the opposite end of the park, facing the intersection of the Antrim Rd, Limestone Rd and Cavehill Rd, there is an elaborate Art Nouveau style metal arch-way, with lettering 'Queen Mary's Gardens' and the date June 1931. This is supported on brown brick pillars, with raised rectangular panels to the front and back and reconstituted stone copings. The 20th century railings continue a short distance along the Cavehill Road and then terminate.

Setting:
Located north of the former gate lodge, built c.1850, to the designs of Sir Charles Lanyon at the southeast corner and east boundary of Waterworks Park, Antrim Road, also known as Queen Mary's Gardens.

Railings and gates: cast-iron painted
Piers: cast-iron/brick
Walling: sandstone
Cappings: cast-iron/reconstituted stone

Historical information

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. 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 (HB26/44/027A).

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 middle (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 junction of the Antrim 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 miniture 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 key holders paying annual subscription. The Belfast Reservoir Angler's Association had fishing rights to the reservoirs and made day tickets available 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 transferred 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).

The piers along the Antrim Road frontage to the park originally consisted of an elaborate range of large square piers with recessed panels and cappings with urns. The piers at the park entrance screen originally supported two cube-shaped lanterns.(Dean, p.30) The piers seem to have been updated early-mid 19th century to simple square brick pillars with reconstituted stone cappings and the railings extending north along the Antrim Road to the Cavehill Road junction.

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
H-. Alterations detracting from building
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

The decorative cast-iron railings to the former gate lodge, at 260 Antrim Rd, Belfast (HB26/44/027A) and curved entrance screen and railings to east boundary of Waterworks Park, Antrim Road are a good example of architectural metalwork in both the Victorian and Art Nouveau styles. Originally designed to enclose the water basins, former porters lodge (most likely to the designs of Sir Charles Lanyon) and the pleasure gardens at the Water Works, where two large reservoirs were developed by 1842 to provide fresh water to the city. Despite replacement of the earlier elaborate piers and cappings during early the 19th-century, the railings and gate screen, enhance the setting of the lodge and contribute to the character of Water Works park and the Antrim Road area, illustrating its historical development during 19th and 20th centuries.