Glenarm Castle Tour

IN JUNE, 2015, I PAID A VISIT TO GLENARM CASTLE, ANCESTRAL SEAT OF THE EARLS OF ANTRIM

GLENARM CASTLE IS THE ANCESTRAL SEAT OF THE EARLS OF ANTRIM

I was in my element during the weekend: the ducal seat of Baronscourt, County Tyrone, on Saturday; and  Glenarm Castle, County Antrim, yesterday.

Viscount and Viscountess Dunluce (Lord Dunluce is heir to the Earl of Antrim) have done a marvellous job of restoring and rejuvenating their stately home beside the historic village of Glenarm.

Glenarm Castle estate extends today to about 1,300 acres.

Antrim arms

I arrived in Glenarm  at about eleven forty-five, just in time for the first guided tour of the Castle.

George, the butler, and Elaine, the housekeeper, were on hand to guide us through the principal rooms.

East Elevation

The present Castle seems to date from 1756, although there have been many additions and alterations since then.

Out tour began in the hall, which rises two storeys.

There are a number of family portraits here, including one of Louisa, wife of the 5th Earl and niece of the 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister from 1830-34.

A fine serving-table, dating from 1750, stands below the portrait of Anne Catherine, Countess of Antrim suo jure.

The wonderfully ethereal ceiling was painted by Angela (née Sykes), Countess of Antrim (1911-84).

Garden Front

OUR NEXT stop was the drawing-room.

The late Angela, Lady Antrim, painted scenes from La Fontaine's Fables round the ceiling in the 1950s.

Many ancestral portraits hang here, including four 18th century landscape paintings of the family's two castles, Dunluce and Glenarm.

A number of personal family photographs stand on the grand piano.


THE DINING-ROOM is spacious and elegant, containing two full-length portraits of the 5th and 6th Earls.

Randal, 6th Earl and 2nd Marquess of Antrim (1749-91) wears the robes of the Order of the Bath.

The dining-table was laid for six today, though can be considerably enlarged, I gather, to accommodate up to twelve.

Crockery is monogrammed with the Earl of Antrim's cipher.

We were told that the open fire is seldom lit here because its draught is somewhat less than satisfactory.


THE BLUE ROOM was originally the billiards-room.

There are quite a few equine paintings on the wall, drawn for the 5th Earl, a passionate horseman who kept a stud in the estate.

The 5th Earl is said to have been an avid gambler (hardly surprising given his fondness for the Turf) who squandered much of his money.

Like Baronscourt in County Tyrone, Glenarm Castle flourishes today thanks to Lord and Lady Dunluce's love and passion for this historic family home; its magnificent gardens; the wooden obelisk hand-crafted by Corin Giles; the beautiful cascade and fountains; the herb garden; and the yew circle.

THE BARBICAN gate lodge is built into the estate wall at the end of an old stone bridge spanning the river Glenarm.

It was commissioned in 1823 by Edmund Phelps, the second husband of Anne Catherine, Countess of Antrim suo jure, who inherited the estate when her father, the 6th Earl, died without male issue.

The architect William Vitruvius Morrison built it using local, coursed, rubble basalt and red ashlar sandstone dressings.

This gate lodge has a narrow turret staircase which leads onto a roof terrace overlooking the surrounding countryside.

*****

BEFORE I conclude this article, I must mention the Castle Tea Room.

I lunched here yesterday and enjoyed a hearty and nourishing bowl of home-made sweet potato and parsnip soup, with a fresh bread roll and butter.

Having complimented the staff, I bade them farewell.

The Duke of Edinburgh

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE PHILIP, Baron Greenwich, Earl of Merioneth and Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, OM, GBE, is 99 today.

• Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
  
• Royal Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT)
  
• Member of the Order of Merit (OM)
  
• Grand Master, First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE)

His Royal Highness is Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy, Field Marshal in the Army and Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

Photo Credit: Defence Academy of the United Kingdom

In 2011, Her Majesty The Queen appointed Prince Philip Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.

Blue Trail Walk

IN JULY, 2016, I WALKED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME ALONG MOUNT STEWART'S NEW BLUE TRAIL

Today is a Jazz in the Garden day at Mount Stewart, the National Trust's beautiful property on the Ards Peninsula, County Down.

However, my purpose was to walk the brand new Blue Trail.

This new trail doesn't officially open until next Wednesday, I gather, though visitors are being treated to a preview.

The trail passes a field of barley and a derelict cottage with a rusty corrugated iron roof.

I searched for the ruins of an ancient church in a field close to the Glen, though all I could find were several large stones.

The trail meanders through lovely woodland till it joins the Red Trail at a junction which leads to The Folly, where I lunched this afternoon.

I sat on a wooden chair in the folly, had a beaker of tea, and ate my fresh fruit.

Thence I walked along the track, past a wild-flower meadow with cornflowers, past the old piggery, and back to my car.

First published in July, 2016.

Something Fishy

The trusty pushbike has been well utilized during this pandemic. You've likely seen it in a few articles I've written.

I purchased it about twenty-two years ago, at Halford's, and it's a fairly sturdy urban kind of bike.

This morning I recalled that Edward Murray of Something Fishy, a fishmonger from Portavogie, has a mobile seafood stall at Comber Road, Dundonald, on Wednesday mornings.

I think they also usually have a stall at St George's Market in Belfast.

This morning, however, I mounted the two-wheeler and cycled from Belmont GHQ to Dundonald, a journey of three miles perhaps.

Enid Bennett, whose husband and sons ran a hardware shop in Comber, used to inquire if a merchant was easy to pay - "are they easy to pay?"

Something Fishy is easy to pay. Just remember to bring cash with you. I was prepared, and I'd brought my wallet with a few banknotes in it.

I fancy breaded cod tonight, so I bought a good piece of that, and a portion of their battered scampi.

The piece of cod was a fiver; the scampi, £2.80.

1974: Belfast Car Dealers

The 1974 Series: Any suggestions about other categories to write about, viz. hatters, book-sellers, restaurants or whatever are welcome.

The first topic is going to be car dealerships and distributors in central Belfast mainly because, as a little boy, I simply adored motor-cars and car show-rooms. Which ones did I frequent?

Mostly Thompson-Reid's and Charles Hurst. Thompson-Reid's show-room at Breda shopping centre (Supermac) was a place I often visited, and the sales men invariably indulged me.

Thompson-Reid had their head office and show-room at 14-16 Donegall Square East, and the show-room went right back to Upper Arthur Street, where there was a little petrol station.

They sold Austin cars.

Thompson-Reid also had premises at the aforementioned Supermac shopping centre.

Charles Hurst was the other big dealership in Belfast which sold British marques, their show-rooms being at 44-54 Chichester Street and 17-27 Montgomery Street.

W H Alexander sold Morris and Wolseley cars at the aptly named Morris House, 90-108 Victoria Street.

Stanley Harvey, at 4 Clarence Street West had, I believe, the concession for Rolls-Royce.

The main Ford dealers were J E Coulter, at 78-82 Antrim road and 38-42 Chichester Street; and R E Hamilton, at 32 Linen Hall Street.

Isaac Agnew was considerably smaller, in commercial terms, though it survives today.

They were main Volkswagon dealers at North Howard Street, Lisburn Road and Falls Road.

A S Baird sold Chrysler, Humber, Hillman, Sunbeam and Simca.

Baird's offices were at was Humber House, 26-30 Ormeau Avenue, and 62-66 Bedford Street.

Clarence Engineering Limited, of 24 Ormeau Avenue and Bankmore Street, sold Triumph and Standard cars.

W H Connolly was located at 118-124 Donegall Pass and, I think, sold Citroen cars.

Dick and company, Donegall Street,  sold Fiat cars.

Geddis Cars, 28 Linen Hall Street - Datsun (now Nissan).

David Marshall Limited was the main Vauxhall dealer at 17 Bedford Street.

Have I omitted any?

First published in May, 2010.

Farewell Con

I bade farewell to my old acquaintance, the Reverend John McConnell (Con) Auld, MA, this afternoon, Tuesday, the 5th May, 2020, in his home town of Holywood, County Down.

Mourners assembled at High Street in the town, and the cortège made its way to Redburn cemetery.

A service to celebrate his life was conducted at Con's graveside by the Rev Noble McNeely, Minister Emeritus of 1st Holywood Presbyterian Church.

Con's Final Journey, Redburn Cemetery

Con's memory lives on in his historical publications.

Every time I visit Portbraddan, County Antrim, I'll think of him.

Towpath Ride

£82,754,728.

That was the estimated cost for reopening the River Lagan navigation from Belfast Harbour to Lough Neagh in 2012.

Money well spent, to my mind.

By far the costliest stretch of the canal to reinstate would be from Stranmillis to Lisburn, though a new Lock One is presently being built at Stranmillis, and Lock Twelve, Hanna's, has been restored at Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn.

The part of the canal from Moira to Lough Neagh is the best preserved section of the navigation, with original road bridges and locks remaining intact.

The main fabric here has suffered little during the period of abandonment and a complete and quick restoration would be achievable.

The main issues for that section, therefore, would include the loss of the towpath for part of its length, and the provision of an adequate water supply for locks, and land ownership.


A WALK or cycle along the River Lagan towpath really can be delightful, especially on a fine, sunny day.

Unfortunately the old canal is no longer navigable by boat, nor has it been since about 1958.

Click to Enlarge

The narrow canal boats which used it, lighters as they were called, had to be no longer than 62 feet in length, 14 feet 6 inches in width, with a maximum draught of 5 feet 6 inches.

That was the stipulation.

Today I cycled along the Lagan towpath (former path used by horses to tow the lighters) as far as Lock Seven.

I've already posted photographs of my journey to Locks Two and Three (haven't I?).

Lock Four

Lock Four, Rosie Ward's, in the vicinity of Edenderry, County Antrim, is completely overgrown with little trees, bushes and plants sprouting everywhere.

There was once an eel weir here, though that has been disused since the 1950s.

The average distance between each lock is about a mile.

Lock Five, May, 2020

At Lock Five, Ballydrain Lock, we pass Malone Golf Club, which possesses a grand club-house, formerly known as Ballydrain House.

I've written a bit about Ballydrain House here.

Lock Five is high and dry. Seemingly there were always issues with water levels on the canal, and the Broad Water was created as a reservoir for this very purpose.

Lock Five, towards Belfast

Canal folk were a superstitious bunch: they disliked staying overnight in this area due to 'strange influences.'

Drum House from Lock Six

Drum House, a large residence at Lock Six, looks terrific. I gather there's a garden centre here.

Its lawns sweep down to the bank of the canal.

An old painted bollard still exists at this lock, which is fairly clear of foliage.

The original penstock weir across the River Lagan at Drum Bridge has since been removed and a short section of canal under the bridge has been concreted to accommodate a pedestrian footpath.

The restoration of a navigation bridge at the existing underpass at Drum Bridge below Upper Malone Road would therefore be needed.

Lock Six, painted by WH Burns (1924-95). Photo Credit: BBC

The estimated cost of restoring the navigation at Lock Six alone was about £4 million in 2012.

Lock Six, May, 2020

I couldn't resist posting an image of the lock today and almost a century ago in 1924.

Lock Six in 1924

My journey along the canal terminated today at Lock Seven, McQuiston's Lock, which lies between Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park and Seymour Hill, Dunmurry.

This lock is completely overgrown; in fact I almost missed it as I cycled along the towpath.

Ruinous Lock-house at Lock Seven

It's well worth a detour, though, because deep within the woods the ruins of the old Mossvale lock-house can be seen.

Is it made of sandstone? Most, if not all, of the locks were made with that type of stone.

The restoration costs for a new Lock Seven would be considerable.

The M1 Motorway crosses both the River Lagan and the original navigation cut approximately half a mile south of Upper Dunmurry Lane.

A section of the navigation cut was partially infilled during the construction of the motorway embankment, and a subway was built to accommodate the pedestrian route under the motorway.

The present subway, however, isn't big enough for any new stretch of canal.

The river was realigned under the M1 about 400 yards to the north of the subway.

The most cost-effective option at this location, it has been proposed, is not to follow the original route of the waterway, but to utilise the river under the motorway bridge and construct a new short section of navigation cut and lock chamber on the upstream side to connect to the original cut.

Another couple of million pounds.

Back to McQuiston’s lock-house: It's on the far side of the towpath, across the little stone bridge.

This lock was near Mossvale linen works, owned by the Charley family of Seymour Hill.

The Charleys even constructed a quay on the canal for unloading coal.

From here I turned back, and stopped en route at Lock Three, McCleave's, where the Lockkeeper's Inn is located.

Pit-stop at Lock Three

I didn't have the Apple Watch on today because the battery was far too low.