Glenoe is a tiny village on the plateau above Larne and Carrickfergus,
and was much frequented by 19th and early 20th century travellers
seeking quaint views. A lady visiting Glenoe waterfall (now owned
by the National Trust) in 1845 wrote that she 'scrambled down
[a] steep dirty place holding on by roots and trees, and fern;
crossed the stream on stepping stones and stood in the centre
of a circle, the sides of which are quite steep and black, and
wet; at one side the water comes dashing and splashing down and
at the opposite end there is a fissure where it runs off. On the
sides are mountain-ash trees... So many that no sunbeam can enter
here.' There are a many picture-postcard views from the turn of
the century showing the whitewashed and thatched cottages of the
village, but in recent years most have been modernised.
The best remaining terrace, numbered 7-10, steps picturesquely
up the steep hillside towards what was formerly the site of a
stone corn mill. No.10 had been a pub at one time, with a long
narrow room on the ground floor apparently containing the public
room, and the door below it leading to an alley in which the drink
was stored. No.9 came over that store at first floor level, and
had no back door despite the fact that its occupants had to use
an outside toilet in the back garden - this meant a trek round
the front and along the gable of no.10! By the 1980s the terrace
was mostly vacant, deteriorating and vandalised, though still
retaining its old windows and doors.
Hearth negotiated the purchase of the vacant houses (no.7 remains
privately rented), and has converted the three houses into two,
retaining the front elevation as it was but adding a new return
at the back of no.10 and linking nos.8 and 9 with internal stairs
to accommodate the steep changes in level. The party wall between
nos.8 and 9 was thickened, with the exposed gable between them
being partly rebuilt and the stone corbelling at the front of
the gable altered to suit. The original colour scheme of green
woodwork and whitewashed walls has been retained.
Client: Hearth Revolving
Fund
Architect: Hearth (Project Architect: Dawson Stelfox)
Main Contractor: A M Cole, Carrickfergus
Restored: 1992-93
Accommodation: One three-bedroom house and one two-bedroom house.
Assisted by loans and grants from: N I Housing Executive, Historic
Buildings Branch DoE and own capital.
