Lower Crescent, Belfast

Lower Crescent in 2014:  looking towards Botanic Avenue and Cameron Street

Lower Crescent and Upper Crescent, both in the University quarter of south Belfast, have always inspired me, even since childhood.

Lower Crescent, which runs from 4, University Road to Botanic Avenue, is to the north of Upper Crescent.

Upper Crescent runs from 28, University Road to Crescent Gardens.

Number 5 for sale in 2014

The sale of much of Lord Donegall's Belfast estate in the early to mid-19th century freed large areas of land around the town for development.

The lands to the south, along the Malone Ridge, were particularly attractive to developers and fostered the construction of many fine late Georgian-style terraces from the mid 1830s onwards, a trend accelerated by the establishment of Queen's College (now Queen's University) in the area, in the later 1840s.

These grand, new terraces were occupied by the city's professional and business classes, vacating their former residences in the town centre, which, in turn, were gradually turned into shops and offices.

Upper Crescent was perhaps regarded as the grandest terrace development undertaken to the south of Belfast, an elegantly curving row of three-storey town-houses in a late Regency style, built in 1846 by the timber merchant Robert Corry.

Dr Paul Larmour has suggested that Sir Charles Lanyon may have been consulted about the design.

Corry himself undertook the building work and took up residence at 16 Upper Crescent.

For the first few years of its existence, this row was known as Corry's Crescent.

To the immediate north of Upper Crescent, where Crescent Church now stands, there was a large lawn which Corry used as a garden.

Shortly after this garden was laid out, however, Corry had it ploughed up and used for the cultivation of vegetables for relief of local workers suffering as a result of the famine.

To the north of this garden ran an old water course; to the east, some smaller gardens (belonging to other occupants of Upper Crescent); and further to the east and to the north-east ran Albion Lane.

In 1852, Robert Corry built another terrace to the north of his garden and just south of the old water course.

This new development, Lower Crescent, was much in the same vein as that to the south, and was occupied by the same mix of professionals and businessmen; though, by as early as 1860, the ground floors of some of the properties were used as offices.

In the late 1860s, a railway line was laid to the immediate north of Lower Crescent (along the line of the old water course).

In 1873, the large sandstone building, (originally Ladies Collegiate, later Victoria College), was added to the west end of the terrace, with two houses added to the east end by the end of the decade, the most easterly of which, Rivoli House, originally contained a dance academy run by a Frederick Brouneau.

The new railway line cut across Albion Lane and presaged the laying out of a new, broader thoroughfare, to be named Botanic Avenue.

Upper Crescent also witnessed further building in the 1860s and 70s, with two large William Hastings-designed properties erected to the west end in 1869, one of which, Crescent House (latterly a bank) also fronted on to University Road.

In 1878-79, two further houses were added to this end, on the ground between those of 1869.

In 1885-7, the large Presbyterian church (the present Crescent Church) was erected to plans by the Glasgow architect, John Bennie Wilson, on the west side of Robert Corry's former garden, with a two-storey terrace, the present Crescent Gardens, built on the site of smaller garden plots to the east end, in 1898.

During the first half of the 20th century, most of the properties of Upper and Lower Crescent, as well as Crescent Gardens, remained private dwellings.

However, by 1960 many were given over to business use; others divided into flats, with the former Rivoli House, (later called Dreenagh House), becoming a hotel.

This trend continued, and by the beginning of the 21st century none were occupied as private dwellings.

In the mid 1990s, three of the 1860-70 houses at the west end of Upper Crescent were demolished and a modern office block built in their place; whilst in 2000 the railway cutting to the south of Lower Crescent was built over, in preparation for a new development.

1 LOWER CRESCENT:

occupied by Frederick Gee, commission merchant. Gee appears to have remained there until at least 1882, though a Charles McDowell is listed by 1877. By 1899, it was in the hands of neighbouring Victoria College. When the Victoria College building changed hands to become the Crescent Arts Centre in 1978, this property remained associated with it, becoming The Octagon Gallery. It is largely used as a store by the Arts Centre.

2 LOWER CRESCENT:

One of the eleven houses which made up the original 1852 section of Lower Crescent. In 1858, it was occupied by John Savage, flax merchant. John Corry (a relative of the abovementioned Robert Corry) is listed as resident in 1862; Mrs Cuppage in 1877; and Mrs McDowell in the 1890-1900. The property came into possession of Victoria College at some time between 1910-20 and remained as such until that institution left Lower Crescent in the 1970s; however, for much of this period, it appears to have been leased to various businesses and private tenants. In the 1980s, it became a health centre (which appears to have been integrated with its neighbour, number 3); then a stationery shop; and later, offices.

3 LOWER CRESCENT:

In 1858, was listed as vacant, but was occupied by Henry Smith in 1860; the Rev John Moore in 1861; and William Moffat, 1877. In the 1890s and early 1900s, it was occupied by Mrs Margaret Byers, ounder of Victoria College. It was still in possession of Victoria College for some years after Mrs Byers' decease in 1912, but was either sold or leased out by the school by 1930, for by this date it had become a private dwelling once again. The property remained a dwelling house until the 1970s.

4 LOWER CRESCENT:

Thomas Hanlon, of Messrs George McTear & Company, Steam Packet Agents, Donegall Quay; Miss Jane Vance, by 1860. Miss Vance was followed a few years later by Dr Peter Redfern, who remained there until ca 1915. The property appears to remained a private dwelling until the 1950s, when it was divided into flats. It remained as such until the early 1980s, when the flats were converted to offices. The return is recorded as two storey in the valuation of 1860. The decoration to the second floor landing (which matches that to the first floor) suggests that it may have been raised a storey not long after this date.

5-6 LOWER CRESCENT:

Number 5 was occupied by Mrs Andrews; Henry Dickson resided at number 6. By 1860, number 5 was occupied by Aylward Connor, with its ground floor used as offices. Connor appears to have remained there until the late 1870s, when the property became home to Colonel Audain. Number 6 passed to Mrs Charnock in 1870, with both she and the Audain family occupying both houses until 1910 at least. Both buildings appear to have remained private dwellings until the 1970s, but by 1980 number 6 was an office. In the late 1980s, number 5 was coverted to a bar and night club, The Fly. In the late 1990s, this bar was greatly expanded, when its owners acquired number 6 and added a large extension to the rear of the newly-created single property.

7 LOWER CRESCENT:

Robert Cassidy, a solicitor, who, (by 1860 at least) used the ground floor as an office. In 1870,  James Campbell is listed as resident; Henry F Thomas in 1877; Samuel Alexander in 1882; and Mrs Orr in 1910. The property appears to have been divided into flats in the 1960s, but had become an office (once again) by 1980.

8 LOWER CRESCENT:

Tobias Porter, Belfast Flour Mills Manager, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, Mrs Lyons is recorded as resident; with Miss Lyons in occupation from about 1910-40s. From the mid 1950s until the late 1970s, this property and number 9 served as the canteen for Victoria College. No doubt much of the internal changes to both buildings date from this period. The building has housed various offices from the late 1970s onwards.

9 LOWER CRESCENT:

Samuel Delacherois, gentleman. In 1860, it was occupied by a John K McCausland, who appears to have remained there until at least 1882. The next occupant was Miss Vance, who was followed by Mrs Jackson about 1915. In the 1940s, the property came into the possession of Victoria College; and in the following decade became, (along with neighbouring number 8), the college's canteen. After the departure of Victoria College from Lower Crescent in the late 1970s, the property was converted to offices.

10 LOWER CRESCENT:

And its neighbour to the east (11) were used as offices for the Ordnance Survey, but by 1860, number 10 was a private dwelling once again, occupied by Robert W Corry. Corry was followed in 1862 by John Arnold, who remained there until the mid 1880s at least. In 1899, Mrs McKnight is listed as resident; Miss Warner in 1910; Mr T Kernaghan, linen merchant, in 1920. By 1940, the property appears to have been divided into two flats. In 1960, three flats are recorded, with four in 1970. These fluctuating divisions of the property appear to have changed again in the later 1970s, when the first floor became amalgamated with the first floors of numbers 8 and 9 to form a large office suite.

11 LOWER CRESCENT:

Was, by 1860, occupied by Charles Gaussen, who was followed in 1861 by Henry Cuppage, who remained there until at least 1882. In 1899, William Pedlow, District Inspector, National Schools, Belfast South, is listed as resident; then David Wright, bottle merchant and representative of the Chilean Nitrate Committee; T  Kernaghan in 1920; and Mr S E Fitchie, wholesale stationer, in 1930. By 1940, the property became a nursing home; then a guest house in 1951; but reverted to a private residence from the late 1950s to the 1970s. By 1980, the property was converted to offices.

12 LOWER CRESCENT:

Built in 1877-78 to designs by architect William Hastings, who had also worked on the larger property to the east (13) two years earlier. The building was originally occupied by William J Morrison, with William Campbell in residence in 1899. Campbell remained there until some time between 1910-20. Miss Gardener occupyed the house in 1921. In 1930, a journalist named Alex Riddle and Professor Ivor Arnold are recorded as residents; with three occupants listed in 1940, two in 1951 and three in the 1960s and 1970s. Clearly the property must have been split into flats ca 1930. In the late 1980s, the building was converted to a restaurant, linked with the neighbouring hotel (13), with hotel rooms to the upper floors. In the late 1990s, the restaurant was converted to a public bar. 

Sources: Henderson's Belfast Directory; Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory; ST Carleton, The Growth of South Belfast (QUB MA thesis, 1967); John Caughey, Seize Then The Hour: A history of James P Corry & Compnay (Belfast, 1974), pp.28-29; David Evans, Historic buildings of Queen's University (revised edition, 1980); Alison Jordan: Margaret Byers, Pioneer of Women's Education (QUB Institute of Irish Studies).

First published in March, 2014.

Upper Crescent, Belfast

Upper Crescent in 2014

Lower Crescent and Upper Crescent, both in the University Quarter of south Belfast, have inspired me since childhood.

Lower Crescent, which runs from 4 University Road to Botanic Avenue, is to the north of the Upper Crescent; whereas Upper Crescent runs from 28 University Road to Crescent Gardens.

Most of the 2nd Marquess of Donegall's Belfast estate was sold in the early to mid-19th century, thereby freeing large areas of land around the town for development.

The lands to the south, along the Malone Ridge, were particularly attractive to developers, and fostered the construction of many fine late Georgian-style terraces from the mid 1830s onwards, a trend accelerated by the establishment of the prestigious Queen's College (Queen's University) in the area, in the later 1840s.

13-15 Upper Crescent in 2014

These new, grand terraces were occupied by the city's professional and business classes, who vacated their older residences in the centre of the town (like College Square North); which, in turn, eventually became shops and offices.

Upper Crescent was perhaps the grandest terrace development undertaken in south Belfast.

This was an elegantly curving row of three-storey dwellings in a late Regency style, built in 1846 by the timber merchant Robert Corry.

It has been suggested that the celebrated Belfast architect Sir Charles Lanyon may have been involved in the design of the crescents.

Corry himself undertook the building work and took up residence at 16 Upper Crescent.

For the first few years of its existence it was known as Corry's Crescent.

To the immediate north of Upper Crescent, where Crescent Church now stands, there was a large, grassed area which formed part of Mr Corry's gardens.

Shortly after this plot was laid out, however, Corry had it ploughed up and used for the cultivation of vegetables (for the relief of local workers suffering as a result of the famine).

To the north of this garden ran an old water course; to the east, some smaller gardens (belonging to other residents of Upper Crescent); and further to the east and to the north-east, Albion Lane.

In 1852, Robert Corry built another terrace to the north of his garden and just south of the old water course.

This new development, called Lower Crescent, was much in the same vein as that to the south and was occupied by the same mix of professional and business men; though, by as early as 1860, the ground floors of some of the properties were utilized as offices.

In the late 1860s, a railway line was laid to the immediate north of Lower Crescent (along the line of the old water course).

In 1873, the large sandstone building, (originally Ladies Collegiate, later Victoria College), was added to the west end of the terrace, with two houses added to the east end by the end of the decade, the most easterly of which, Rivoli House, originally contained a dance academy run by a Frederick Brouneau.

The railway line cut across Albion Lane and presaged the laying out of a new, broader thoroughfare, to be named Botanic Avenue.

Upper Crescent was further extended in the 1860s and 70s, with two large William Hastings-designed properties erected to the west end in 1869, one of which, Crescent House (latterly a bank) also fronted on to University Road.

In 1878-79, two further houses were added at this end.

In 1885-7, a large Presbyterian church (the present Crescent Church) was erected to plans by the Glasgow architect, John Bennie Wilson, on the west side of Robert Corry's former garden, with a two-storey terrace, the present Crescent Gardens, built on the site of smaller garden plots to the east end in 1898.

During the first half of the 20th century, most of the properties of Upper and Lower Crescent, as well as Crescent Gardens, remained private residences.

By 1960, however, many had become businesses; while others were divided into flats, and Rivoli House (later Dreenagh House) became a hotel.

This trend continued and by the beginning of the 21st century none of the properties were occupied as private dwellings.

In the mid 1990s, three of the 1860-70 houses at the west end of Upper Crescent were demolished and a modern office block was built in their place.

In 2000, the railway cutting to the south of Lower Crescent was built over in preparation for a new development.

1 UPPER CRESCENT:

Originally named Crescent House, was built in 1869 to designs by William Hastings. Its original resident was Dr Wilberforce Arnold, whose family remained there until the early 1900s. The next occupant was Dr John Campbell, who was followed by a Dr William Campbell (presumably his son). Both Campbells (and possibly Dr Arnold before them) appear have used the University Road section of the property as a surgery. In the 1970s, the building was acquired by Queen's University and served as the University's Institute of Professional Legal Studies. In 2001-02 the property was converted to a branch of the Bank of Ireland (and practically rebuilt in the process), with half of the first floor and all of the second floor converted to offices, linked to the large modern office block to the east.

7 UPPER CRESCENT:

Built in 1849, occupied by Robert Workman, who remained there until the mid-1850s, when he was followed by John Coates, secretary of the County Antrim Grand Jury. By 1860, the building was in the hands of a John P Corry, a relative of the builder of the Crescent, Robert Corry. At this stage (according to valuation records), the ground floor was used as offices. James P Corry remained in residence until 1877, when he was succeeded by MrWilliam Dobbin. John Morrow, of the Ayr Steamship Company, is listed as the householder in 1899 and 1910; with P T Crymble in 1920. In the later 1920s, the property was acquired by a Miss Wallace, who remained there until the 1970s; and for part of this time used the premises as a nursing home. Thereafter the property was converted to offices. The current occupant acquired the building in 1983.

8 UPPER CRESCENT:

Occupied, in 1849, by a merchant named Edward Tucker, who was followed by the Rev William Patterson (Professor of Mathematics, Queen's College) in the early 1850s; Peter Keegan, wine merchant, in the later 1850s; James Glass from ca 1860-77; and then Mrs Shillington. In the 1899 directory, Robert Workman, Junior, is listed as the occupant; William Harper in 1910; Joseph Walsh, 1915-40s; then H M Hamilton; and Herbert Kearney. In the 1970s the property was converted to offices.

9 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Grueber; followed in the mid 1850s by Professor Charles McDowell, who remained there until the early 1880s. In the 1899 and 1910 directories, a W H Ward (of the Ulster Damask & Linen Company) is listed as the occupant; with a Robert Robinson in 1920-30. By 1951, the property had become converted to offices, occupied firstly by the Forestry Division of the NI Department of Agriculture, and then by a firm of quantity surveyors.

10 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Murdock in 1849; followed in the 1850s by James Green and then James P Corry (a relative of the above mentioned Robert). Corry was succeeded by Jane Vance, who remained there until the later 1870s. The next resident was Alexander Taylor; with a solicitor, J S Mahon, listed in the 1899 and 1910 directories. About 1918, the property was acquired by a family named Matthews, who remained there until the 1950s, when the building was converted into offices (financiers, then a travel agent).

11 UPPER CRESCENT:

James Greene, (1st clerk, Custom House); followed by Mrs Herdman; and, by 1860, William McNeill; and, by the late 1870s, James Festu. By 1899, the building was home to William Yates; then, pre-1920, the Rev William Beatty; and then T Bell, who remained there from the mid 1920s to the 1960s. By 1970 the property had been converted to an office.

12 UPPER CRESCENT:

Between 1849-1910/20, the house was occupied by Robert Boag, of Albion Clothing Company, possibly the same person, though likely a father and son. By 1920, it had become The Crescent Private Nursing Home, but had reverted to an conventional dwelling again by 1930, with Miss Mabel Simms in residence. Miss Simms remained there until at least 1960, but by 1970 the building had been converted to an office.

13 UPPER CRESCENT:

William Brown, of Day, Bottomley & Company, who, in the 1850s, leased the house to Mrs Esther Orr, who remained there until about 1880. The next occupant was James Hyndman; followed in the early 1900s by Mrs Cron. Mr E Matthews and his family remained there from the 1920s until the 1960s. By 1970, the house was being used by a group of elocution teachers, but appears to have reverted to a private dwelling in the late 1970s. The property appears to have become offices from the mid 1980s.

14 UPPER CRESCENT:

Mrs Dickey; Henry Smith, linen manufacturer, by 1852; and Jane Millford by 1860. The Rev W S Darley became resident in the later 1870s; with Mrs Thompson listed in the 1899 directory; William Galloway (damask designer) in 1920; and the Rev R H White in 1930. In the 1950s, this building and its two neighbours to the east (nos.15 & 16) served as the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic. In the 1960s all three were acquired by Queen's University and converted to student residences. It was probably at this point that the major internal changes to the buildings were carried out; however, it's not improbable that the earlier presence of the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic probably entailed some alterations, perhaps the creation of doorways between the formerly separate properties.

15 UPPER CRESCENT:

Robert Cassidy, solicitor, who remained here until about 1853, when he moved to the newly-built Lower Crescent; followed by the Rev Robert Wilson, whose family in turn were followed by Mr John Downing. By 1899, Mrs Manley was in residence; and by 1920 a "druggist" named John Clarke; Mrs Rankin, by 1930. A decade later the property served as a nursing home. In the 1950s, this building and its two neighbours to each side (nos.14 and 16) were the Ulster Nature Cure Clinic.

Sources: Henderson's Belfast Directory; Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory; ST Carleton, The Growth of South Belfast (QUB MA thesis, 1967); John Caughey, Seize Then The Hour: A history of James P Corry & Compnay (Belfast, 1974), pp.28-29; David Evans, Historic buildings of Queen's University (revised edition, 1980); Alison Jordan: Margaret Byers, Pioneer of Women's Education (QUB Institute of Irish Studies).

First published in March, 2014.

Dundarave House

THE MACNAGHTEN BARONETS OWNED 7,134 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY ANTRIM

The sept of Macnaghten, in Argyllshire, is acknowledged by the highlanders, according to Alexander Nisbet, to be one of the oldest in the west of Scotland, and its members were for centuries involved in the political transactions of that kingdom.

SHANE DHU, third son of JOHN MACNAUGHTANE, of that Ilk, and grandson of SIR ALEXANDER MACNAUGHTANE, who fell at Flodden, went over to Ulster as secretary to his kinsman, the 1st Earl of Antrim, and settled there.

His son and heir,

DANIEL MACNAUGHTEN, espoused Catherine, niece of the celebrated Lord Primate and Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev George Dowdall, and had, with two daughters, who married into the families of Willoughby and MacManus, of County Antrim, a son and successor,

JOHN MACNAUGHTEN, of BENVARDEN, County Antrim, who wedded Helen, sister of the Rt Hon Edmund Francis Stafford MP, and had issue,

Bartholomew, of Benvarden; father of John "half-hanged" Macnaghten;

EDMUND, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

EDMUND MACNAGHTEN (1679-1781), was conveyed by his mother, then a widow, when he was about ten years old, to the city of Londonderry.

They were there at Christmas, 1688, and were protected by the lady's brother, the Rt Hon Edmond Francis Stafford, then one of the gallant defenders of the place during the memorable siege.

This Edmund died at BEARDIVILLE, County Antrim.

Mr Macnaghten, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1747, married firstly, Leonora, daughter of the Most Rev Dr John Vesey, Lord Archbishop of Tuam, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, in 1761, Hannah, daughter of John Johnstone, of Belfast, by whom he had two sons,

EDMOND ALEXANDER;
FRANCIS.

Mr Macnaghten died at the very advanced age of 102, and was succeeded by his son,

EDMUND ALEXANDER MACNAGHTEN (1762-1832), of Beardiville, and Duke Street, St James's, London, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1793, MP for County Antrim, 1801-12, Orford, 1812-26, County Antrim, 1826-30, and a Lord of the Treasury.

The Macnaghtens of Scotland elected this gentleman and his heirs to the chieftainship of their clan, which, at his decease, in 1832, descended with the family estates to his brother,

SIR FRANCIS WORKMAN-MACNAGHTEN (1762-1843), a High Court Judge in India, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1807, who was created a baronet in 1836, designated of Bushmills House, County Antrim.

Sir Francis (the Hon Mr Justice Macnaghten) had made a fortune in India c1800. He purchased ‘for a small price’ his brother-in-law's property; and at some stage proceeded to build a new, castellated house on the site (Bushmills House); though, after he returned from India in 1825, he seems to have lived mainly at Roe Park and Beardiville.

He espoused, in 1787, Letitia, eldest daughter of Sir William Dunkin, Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta, and had issue,

EDMUND CHARLES, his successor;
William Hay, cr a baronet, 1840; Bengal civil service;
Francis, b 1798, at Calcutta; Bengal civil service;
Elliot, b 1807; Supreme Court, Calcutta;
John Duncan, b 1810; cavalry officer, East India Company;
Steuart, b 1815;
Anne; Eliza Serena; Marianne; Letitia; Matilda; Jane Russell;
Maria; Caroline; Alicia; Ellen, Hannah.

Sir Francis was succeeded by his eldest son,

SIR EDMUND CHARLES WORKMAN-MACNAGHTEN, 2nd Baronet (1790-1876), High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1837, who succeeded to the property.

Like his father, he, too, made a fortune in India; and, having retired at the very young age of 24, decided to replace Bushmills House with a much grander mansion. He commissioned Charles Lanyon to construct the present, very fine Italianate mansion, DUNDARAVE, in 1846, based on Barry’s Reform Club.

The Rt Hon Sir Francis Edmund Workman-Macnaghten, 3rd Baronet (1828-1913), High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1877, was a Privy Counsellor.

The Right Honourable Sir Edward Macnaghten, 4th Baronet (1830–1913), GCB GCMG:

Became a Law Lord as the Baron Macnaghten in 1887. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1857 entitled to practice as a barrister; appointed QC in 1880; was MP for County Antrim, 1880-85; MP for North Antrim, 1885-87; a Privy Counsellor, 1887. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, 1887.

Sir Edward was elevated to the peerage, in 1887, in the dignity of BARON MACNAGHTEN, of Runkerry, County Antrim.

He was a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1907.

Sir Edward Charles Macnaghten was 5th Baronet (1859–1914).

Sir Edward Harry Macnaghten, 6th Baronet (1896–1916), died in 1916 aged 20, reported missing in action, believed killed. He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Highlanders (The Black Watch), attached to the 12th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles; fought in the 1st World War.

Sir Arthur Douglas Macnaghten, 7th Baronet (1897–1916), died in 1916 aged 19, killed in action. He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 8th Battalion, Rifle Brigade.

Sir Francis Alexander Macnaghten became the 8th Baronet (1863–1951); succeeded by Sir Frederic Fergus Macnaghten, 9th Baronet (1867–1955) and Sir Antony Macnaghten, 10th Baronet (1899–1972).

Sir Patrick Alexander Macnaghten DL, 11th Baronet (1927-2007) was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; worked as an engineer and manager with Cadbury's Chocolate.

He succeeded to the baronetcy and as chief of the Name and Arms of the Clan Macnaghten in 1972.

On his retirement he lived at Dundrave until 2005.

He was a Deputy Lieutenant and Vice-President of the Northern Ireland Ploughing Association; and a member of the Fisheries Conservancy Board.

Sir Malcolm Macnaghten is the present 12th Baronet (b 1956).

DUNDARAVE HOUSE, near Bushmills, County Antrim, is described by the Sir Charles Brett as ‘by far the grandest 19th century house in north Antrim’.

Not surprisingly, the parkland created as a setting for this house is of some importance in its own right.

In fact, the park pre-dates the present house, for its bones were laid down for an 18th century house on the site known as Bushmills House.

Described as "a very fine Italianate palazzo", both inside and out, Dundarave has all the dignity and splendour of a London club.

It consists of two storeys in plan, with a lower service wing at one side. 

The three fronts are all different and ornamented in a pinkish sandstone.

Some fenestration is surrounded by Corinthian aedicules and surmounted by latticed balustrades.

The roof sits on a deep, bracket cornice.

The entrance porch is an Italianate loggia with Corinthian pilasters and columns; whilst the adjoining front boasts a a central feature of a single-storey, curved bow, also with columns.

The porch leads to a narrow entrance hall with barrel ceiling and Classical reliefs on the walls.

However, the central hall is magnificent and vast, very tall, surrounded by a broad gallery at first floor level, with Corinthian columns carrying a lantern storey.

The grandest reception room is the ballroom, with its elaborate plasterwork ceiling.

The Dundarave estate is centred on the house and its surrounding designed landscape. Extending to about 550 acres, there are six estate dwellings; three entrances; five principal rooms located on the ground floor, mostly off the Great Hall, which was designed from the hall of the Reform Club in London, and rises to the full height of the building with a galleried landing at first floor level and lit by a finely plastered cupola.

At ground floor level the Great Hall features carved timber pillars with a painted marble design which are flanked by green painted marble arches. There is a central open fireplace with decorative mantelpiece sitting on Corinthian pillars. This is overlooked by the first floor picture gallery with carved timber bannisters which support twenty Doric columns, which in turn support the elaborate cupola.

The cupola features twelve semi-circular windows and ornate ceiling with eight recessed square panels arranged around an octagon panel, all with decorative plaster work. There are nineteen bedrooms.

In the 1780s this property belonged to Sir William Dunkin of Clogher, sometime judge in Calcutta, whose daughter in 1787 married Francis Workman Macnaghten (1762-1843), a younger son of Edmund of Beardiville.

Francis, who was knighted in 1836, had made a fortune in India and was the acknowledged chief of the ancient clan of Macnaghten.

About 1800, he purchased ‘for a small price’ the property from his brother-in-law; and at some stage proceeded to build a new, castellated house on the site (Bushmills House); though, after he returned from India in 1825, he seems to have lived mainly at Roe Park and Beardiville.

This house and its surrounding parkland were protected on the north and west sides by shelter belts of trees, while a lozenge-shaped walled garden lay to the south east of the house.

In 1843, his son Sir Edward Charles Workman Macnaghten, 2nd Baronet, MP (1790-1876) succeeded to the property.

Like his father he, too, made a fortune in India; and, having retired at the very young age of 24, decided to replace Bushmills House with a much grander mansion.

He commissioned Charles Lanyon (later Sir Charles) to build the present, very fine Italianate mansion-house, built in 1846, based on Barry’s Reform Club.

The site is on exposed high ground, with good views out over lawns and a sweeping drive.

The old shelter belts were extended for the new house; and a second walled garden was added in the mid-19th century to the north of the house; and remains of glasshouses can be seen.

Neither walled garden is cultivated.

There were formal gardens at the south east of the house, which are now grassed and merge into Terrace Wood.

The woodland remains extensive and walks are maintained.

The main entrance gate is in a mini-palazzo style of ca 1848, with cruciform plan of a type favoured elsewhere by Lanyon.

The rear entrance lodge is much simpler in style, though also roughly ca 1850.

There were two plain gate lodges related to the demolished Bushmills House.

DUNDARAVE ESTATE was sold in 2014 by Sir Malcolm, 12th Baronet, to Dr Peter FitzGerald CBE DL.

RUNKERRY HOUSE, at the coast near Bushmills, was once part of the Macnaghten estates. 

It was built in the early 1860s by Sir Edward Macnaghten, 4th Baronet, who became Lord of Appeal for the United Kingdom in 1887 with a life peerage as BARON MACNAGHTEN, of Runkerry, County Antrim.

In 1951, Runkerry House was donated by the Macnaghtens to the Northern Ireland Government for public use.

It was used for many years as a retirement home; later as a residential activity centre; and finally a rehabilitation unit.

It was eventually closed down and, in 1996, placed on the open market and sold at Public Auction to Seaport Investments for conversion to apartments.

First published in March, 2010.

Lough Fea House

THE SHIRLEYS WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN COUNTY MONAGHAN, WITH 26,386 ACRES

This is a branch of the noble and ancient family of Shirley, EARLS FERRERS, springing from

SIR HENRY SHIRLEY, 2nd Baronet (1588-1633),

Who married, in 1616, Dorothy, youngest daughter of ELIZABETH I's accomplished but unfortunate favourite, 2nd Earl of Essex (who possessed the barony and lands of Farney, County Monaghan), and in her issue one of the co-heirs of her brother, 3rd Earl of Essex, the celebrated Parliamentarian General. 

(By this alliance the Earls Ferrers quarter the arms of France and England with their own; the Earl of Essex having descended, maternally, from Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, grandson of EDWARD III).

SIR ROBERT SHIRLEY, 1st Earl Ferrers (1650-1717), married firstly, Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Lawrence Washington, of Garsdon, Wiltshire; and secondly, in 1699, Selina, daughter of George Finch.

The third, but, eventually, eldest surviving son of his second marriage,

THE HON GEORGE SHIRLEY (1705-87), of Ettington Park, Warwickshire, Captain, 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, wedded Mary, daughter of Humphrey Sturt, and had issue,

EVELYN, his heir;
Selina; Margaret.

Mr Shirley was succeeded by his eldest son,

EVELYN SHIRLEY (1756-1810), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea, County Monaghan, who espoused Phillis Byam, daughter of Charlton Wollaston, and had issue,

EVELYN JOHN, his heir;
Charles;
William;
James;
Horatio;
Arthur George Sewallis;
Selina; Mary; Frances; Emily Harriet.

Mr Shirley was succeeded by his eldest son, 

EVELYN JOHN SHIRLEY (1788-1856), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea, who wedded, in 1810, Eliza, daughter of Arthur Stanhope, cousin to the Earl of Chesterfield, MP for County Monaghan, 1826-31, and South Warwickshire, 1836-49, and had issue,

EVELYN PHILIP;
Arthur;
Sewallis;
George Edward;
Walter Devereux;
Selina; Louisa.

His eldest son, 

EVELYN PHILIP SHIRLEY DL (1812-82), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea, MP for South Warwickshire, 1853-65, County Monaghan, 1841-7, had issue,

SEWALLIS EVELYN SHIRLEY JP DL (1844-1904), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea, MP for County Monaghan, 1868-80, High Sheriff of Warwickshire, 1884, who had issue,

EVELYN CHARLES SHIRLEY JP DL (1889-1956), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea; High Sheriff of County Monaghan, 1914, Major, Warwickshire Yeomanry, Lieutenant-Colonel, General Staff, whose only son,

JOHN EVELYN SHIRLEY (1922-2009), of Ettington Park and Lough Fea, Major, King's Royal Rifle Corps.

He lived in 2003 at Ormly Hall, Ramsey, Isle of Man.

Major Shirley had issue,

PHILIP EVELYN , b 1955;
Emily Margaret, b 1957;
Hugh Sewallis, b 1961.

The eldest son,

PHILIP EVELYN SHIRLEY (1955-), of Lough Fea, married, in 1989, Augusta, daughter of Hugo Southern, and has issue,

Evelyn Robert, b 1990;
Horatio John, b 1993;
Nathaniel Guy, b 1995;
Perdita Rose, b 1997. 

The Shirley estate is based at Lough Fea, near Carrickmacross, County Monaghan.

It had an area of some 40 square miles, in the western half of the barony of Farney, County Monaghan, in the period 1576-1960.

The Shirley Papers are deposited at PRONI.

The Shirley Association has written a history of Lough Fea.

The Shirleys were semi-absentee landlords. Their main seat was Ettington Park in Warwickshire.

Evelyn Philip Shirley visited Lough Fea several times a year.

The estate was formerly in the ownership of the Earl of Essex, though underwent the first of several partitions: It passed in two halves to Essex's co-heirs, the Marquess of Hertford and Sir Robert Shirley.

Sir Robert himself died in 1656, imprisoned in the Tower of London for supporting the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.

His son and heir was Sir Seymour Shirley, on whose death in 1667 the estate and the rest of the family inheritance passed in turn to his second and only surviving son, Sir Robert Shirley.

Sir Robert entered the House of Lords in 1677, as Baron Ferrers of Chartley, and in 1711 was further ennobled as 1st Earl Ferrers and Viscount Tamworth.

This last title related to the family seat of Ettington in Warwickshire.

About 1750, the Shirleys built a house near Carrickmacross for their occasional visits.

It was not until 1826 that Robert's grandson, Evelyn John Shirley, laid the foundations of a mansion house worthy of the family and estate, near the banks of Lough Fea.

LOUGH FEA is a very large and unusual Tudor-Gothic house by Thomas Rickman, the English architect and architectural writer who invented the terms "Early English", "decorated" and "perpendicular" to describe the different periods of Gothic architecture.

Unlike most houses of its period and style, Lough Fea has no battlements and few gables, but a solid parapet which conceals much of the roof.

There are also hardly any projecting bows or oriels, but rather small, mullioned windows under hood mouldings; so that the elevations, of pinkish-grey ashlar, have a solid effect.

The Entrance Hall

There are several slender, square turrets with sprocketed, pyramidal roofs; also a polygonal lantern and a small tower and polygonal turret at the end of one wing; but no major tower; so that he house seems low and wide-spreading.

The Entrance Front

The entrance front, facing the lough, is flanked on one side by the chapel and on the other by a great hall, which together form a three-sided court.

The interior is of great complexity, with many corridors and ante-rooms.

There is a hall divided by a stone arcade, its walls hung with an early 19th-century wallpaper.

The Dining-Room

There is a large and handsome library, the famous library of EP Shirley, son of the builder of the house.

The chapel is on the scale of a sizeable church, with two pulpits and a gallery.

The Great Hall

The clou of the house is, however, the Great Hall: vast and baronial, with a lofty hammer-beam roof, a minstrels' gallery and an arcade at first-floor level.

It was added after the rest of the house was completed.

According to the story, Mr Shirley and Lord Rossmore vied with one another as to which of them could build the bigger room.

Lord Rossmore enlarged his drawing room at Rossmore Park five times, but in the end Mr Shirley won the contest by building his great hall.

The garden front of the house faces along a vista to an immense Celtic cross.

The demesne is noted for its magnificent woodlands.

At the end of the 19th century the estate comprised 26,386 acres, but these lands had to be sold due to the Irish Land Acts before the First World War.

The estate now has less than 1,000 acres of grass and woodland.

After the sale of the land, which had been rented to tenants, large mansions such as Lough Fea became white elephants with little revenue coming in.

The Sunken Garden, with the Devereux Tower to the right

In 1904, when Major Shirley’s grandfather died, his father moved from his Ettington Park home in Warwickshire to Carrickmacross, County Monaghan.

Between 1904 and 1977, Major Shirley’s father and his family lived there permanently.

There was a serious fire at the house in 1966, which did quite a lot of damage.

In 1977, the family moved to the Isle of Man and thus reverted to its 19th Century role of absenteeism; though because Major Shirley and his sons were brought up on the estate they have a great love of the place and they do their best to keep the main parts of the building waterproof.

First published in June, 2011.

Baronscourt Shoot

DARREN CRUSH OF THE SHOOTING GAZETTE MAGAZINE WROTE AN ARTICLE IN 2011 ABOUT GAME-SHOOTING AT BARONSCOURT COUNTY TYRONE, SEAT OF THE DUKE OF ABERCORN

NORTHERN IRELAND may not have as many opportunities for game shooting as elsewhere in the British Isles, but in Baronscourt it certainly has one of the most beautiful. 

Situated in a valley at the base of the Sperrin Mountains, Baronscourt estate, all 15,000 acres of it, is something of a sporting paradise. 

Not only does it cater for those in pursuit of sporting pheasants, it can also satisfy the appetite of both the deerstalker and river angler.

Combine this with a main house as majestic on the outside as it is within and you’ve pretty much met the needs of any avid sportsman. 

On the morning of the shoot I was greeted with snow and bright sun.

Saddled up and ready to go after breakfast, I made my way along the remaining eight miles from my hotel to the estate.

The scenery just got better and better as I weaved through the country lanes. 

After passing through the main gates I was met by a beater who pointed me towards the main house, and soon after I grabbed a glimpse of the impressive Clock Tower and Governor’s Lodge - a building that is part of the estate’s stable yard and which dates back to 1890. 

I soon arrived at Barons Court - the main house and seat of the Duke of Abercorn’s family since 1610 - to be met by my host Jamie, Marquess of Hamilton.

I was introduced to the rest of the guns before grabbing an opportunity to speak with Jamie about the shoot as everyone finished their breakfast. 

“There has been game shooting at Baronscourt since the mid-1800s,” said Jamie. “It is something we have always nurtured under our own management.

This includes retaining, as best as possible, our own bloodline of pheasant. 

We’re very lucky in terms of the topography, which really lends itself to sporting birds.

Sammy Pollock, our head-keeper, is assisted by his son, Stephen, and daughter, Jeanette, as well as a wealth of other locals who help on shoot days. 

“Sport at Baronscourt is all about balance and this includes the number of game shooting days that are put on.

In order to protect our stocks we don’t overshoot the land, and each season we will establish how many shoot days we should have so as not to upset this balance. 

There are three types of game shooting on the estate; client days, family days, local syndicate days and walked-up days.

The shoot is mainly run for the family but we feel in order to make full use of the land, and also generate extra income to pump back into the shoot, it is wise to let out days.

We have one group of guns that come here six times a year for walked-up game shooting.

Conservation is also very much to the fore.

Every decision is carefully thought out in terms of the impact it will have and the benefits that can be drawn from it. 

And this is not only in terms of game shooting - a Laurent Perrier Award for wild game conservation in relation to the management of our wild herd of Japanese sika, and the Royal Forestry Society’s Duke of Cornwall Award highlights this. 

All of Baroncourt’s days are managed by Jamie - a personal and knowledgeable touch which ensures everything runs smoothly. 

The estate is fortunate to offer a variety of game for its discerning clients. 

“We are very lucky to have a number of woodcock on the estate and have devised drives whereby the guns and beaters can actually walk together along custom-made tracks cut through coniferous woods in pursuit of this sporting bird,” said Jamie. 

“Moderation, again, is the key here and we organise days according to the potential number of woodcock in the area.” 

A call to the By-turn, the first drive, marked the end of our conversation, and it was then to the gun-bus - a fine specimen adorned on the inside with framed photographs of previous shoots and family members from years gone by. 

Driven along by helper Robert Freeborn we soon found ourselves in a snow-strewn landscape.

I found myself behind Lord Iveagh from the Elveden estate.

Resplendent in his family’s Guinness tie, it wasn’t long before he was sampling some of Baronscourt’s best. 

As snow clouds loomed in the distance, pheasants took flight over the line of guns, their rich colours, reflected by a glowing winter sun were stark against a darkened sky. 

They came in a steady trickle and the drive lasted long enough for each gun to get a good share of the sport. 

Elevenses in a log cabin followed McKelvey’s Kale - a very scenic drive that backed onto one of the estate’s three lakes and the main house.

The team tucked in to sausage rolls, soup and a nip of sloe gin around the warmth of a log fire.

Once suitably fortified it was on to the Spinney. 

With the guns lined out in front of tall, coniferous woodland it didn’t take an expert to realise more testing birds were on their way. 

Sure enough, high bird after high bird powered up over the guns and with the bright sun burning in the sky, only a few were deterred from lifting to a sporting height. 

With lunch looming, there was a treat in store for the guns - a duck drive.

Not only was it a great way to end the morning’s game shooting, it provided uninterrupted sport as the birds lifted in a frenzy of flight.

The guns enjoyed a good half an hour of sport and bagged 110 head. 

Over lunch I bent the ear of head-keeper Sammy Pollock: “I’ve worked on this estate for 35 years,” he told me.

“I started off in the estate’s forestry department before a position came up to join the shoot. 

I had always had an interest in game shooting so to become an under-keeper was a chance that I really wanted to take. 

Bob Godfrey was the head-keeper at the time, so I worked under him for a number of years before working under his successor, Trevor Miskelly.

Then I was made head-keeper 19 years ago and have been so ever since.” Son and daughter Stephen and Jeanette joined Sammy when they left school. 

And, apart from enjoying everything ‘outdoors’, Jeanette also has an interest in water colour painting, something she does on commission.

And Sammy even has his other son, David, and David’s son, Adam, helping out on shoot days too. 

For Sammy and his team, conservation, as with Jamie, Lord Hamilton, is key, and he realises that for game shooting to work it has to be carried out in conjunction with managing the land correctly. 

Echoing Jamie’s comments Sammy said: “It’s all about conservation, it has to be.”

“Take the woodcock for example, we have created special game shooting conditions for them that hasn’t been detrimental to the woodland. “

“Combine that with the fact we don’t overshoot them, and you see how we’re trying to create a decent environment for them.”

“I think we’ve got it just about right here.”

“We’ve been working on it for the past 20-odd years and everything seems to be going well.” 

A working estate that is conducive to the surrounding land and community certainly seems in evidence here, and a lot of the game goes back in to the rural community too. 

“Making good use of game is paramount on the estate,” said Jamie.

“As well as supplying the local trade we also supply restaurants in Belfast and Dublin.”

“The estate also has a EU approved game processing facility, one of only two in Northern Ireland, where we can prepare oven-ready birds.”

“Full game preparation is now very much of the business and this also includes venison - approximately 250 head of venison were prepared at the last count.”

“Some of this produce makes its way to our cookery school at Belle Isle.” 

We closed the day with Ramps.

With the stunning house in the background, the guns saw good birds before retiring for a cup of tea, and for those staying the night, something a little bit stronger. 

For me, it was a trip back to the airport and a head full of memories from a great day.

First published in June, 2011.