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The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society exists to promote the appreciation and enjoyment of architecture from the prehistoric to the present in the nine counties of Ulster, and to encourage its preservation and conservation. |
The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society was founded in 1967 in response to a growing awareness of the value of the historic buildings of Northern Ireland and the threats to their survival. It is widely recognised as one of the most active groups in the British Isles concerned with the promotion of historic architecture and has pioneered a number of important initiatives. Its membership is around 1200, but its influence is wider than this figure might suggest, and it remains the only voluntary body with a remit to campaign for the built heritage across Northern Ireland.
When the UAHS was founded there was no statutory listing in the province. Its campaigns led to the establishment of listed building legislation here in 1972: before that there was no Historic Buildings Council; no historic buildings grants; no conservation areas; and no public buildings record. All those things now exist, and the UAHS has played no small part in their formation. The Society continues to comment on planning legislation, on area plans and on individual planning applications, and its views are often specifically sought by planning authorities and others concerned with development of legislation.
The most public face of the Society is when
it campaigns for the preservation of buildings threatened by redevelopment.
The Society routinely examines the planning applications published
each week across the province, and in a typical week its local
planning monitors and staff may examine the drawings for a dozen
applications and will comment on three or four; this amounts to
up to two hundred applications commented on during the year. While
many comments will be comparatively minor, and some are entirely
supportive of applications, others will lead to further correspondence
and lobbying.
Comments on planning applications can be relatively straightforward,
but the Society also appears at Planning Appeals when important
conservation issues are at stake. It is not just listed buildings
that merit this attention: the Society's campaigns often highlight
the importance of the integrity of conservation areas and suggest
ways of strengthening legislation to reduce losses in the future.
Such pressure was almost certainly instrumental, for example,
in the designation of five new conservation areas in Belfast in
2000.
For details of current issues go to News.
If a listed building is threatened with demolition
or severe alteration, or if an unlisted building of real merit
is threatened, the Society will raise the issue not only with
the planners, but also with councils and in some cases with the
applicants as well. This can lead to more public prominence for
the Society's work when it draws media attention to the issues.
Prominent recent campaigns have included Portrush Town Hall and
the early but unlisted Ardmara in Bangor. In the latter case there
was a particularly strong local lobby, but surprisingly often
the Society is the only objector to a planning application, and
its comments can provide essential support when the Planning Service
or Environment Service wish to refuse an application. When local
people are involved, the Society can often provide a more expert
or scholarly case to back up the issues residents have identified.
For details of current issues go to News.
The Society's ability to make precise and scholarly
comments on planning applications arises largely from the accumulated
expertise of the more than fifty publications it has issued. These
range from general books on local architecture to monographs on
particular architects or houses, but at the core are the historical
gazetteers that describe nearly every building in many of Ulster's
towns with detailed descriptions and histories illuminated by
anecdotes and numerous photographs. Recent volumes include Armagh
city, Central Belfast and Bangor. The third of Sir Charles Brett's
magisterial and beautifully illustrated county books, that on
the buildings of north Co Down, is due to appear in 2002. The
Society's books are used by schoolchildren, historians, architects
and estate agents, and are widely collected as an invaluable resource
on local history and buildings past and present.
Click here for an index to our
publications; or here for the full
list.
Another series of publications in recent years
has covered Buildings At Risk. Generously sponsored by the Environment
& Heritage Service, these have drawn attention to the plight
of more than a thousand buildings lying empty and neglected; some
20% have subsequently found new owners or uses, while negotiations
are ongoing in other cases. In parallel with these books has been
the publication of directories of architects, builders and craftsmen
working in conservation, which helps building owners to identify
expert assistance in restoring their buildings.
Click here for further details.
People might say it is easy to draw attention to the plight of such buildings but less easy to solve them. The Society was aware from early on of the need to carry out practical restoration work and therefore collaborated with the National Trust in the establishment of Hearth, a body which acquires and restores historic buildings at risk. The Society continues to nominate half of Hearth's committee. It maintains a close relationship with this body which now manages a hundred houses in restored buildings and has restored many more for sale and for other owners. Examples of buildings rescued by Hearth include the lockhouse at Drumbeg outside Belfast, Georgian buildings in Armagh and Belfast, and the Curfew Tower in Cushendall, many of which would almost certainly have otherwise been lost. Full details of Hearth's current activities can be found on its own website at www.hearth-housing.org.uk.
The Society provides speakers for local history
societies and extramural lectures, and has organised regular conferences
and seminars on aspects of local architecture. A particularly
successful recent conference, Bliss or Blitz, focused on the threats
to rural vernacular buildings, and this has led to a number of
initiatives by the NI Housing Executive and others which may reduce
the loss of such buildings. Recognising the need for education
at an early stage, the Society has received a Heritage Lottery
grant to enable it to employ an education officer for three years
to develop materials for schools to use, drawing local buildings
into the curricula for history, geography, art and other subjects.
Click here for further details.
All of these activities are vital to the Society, and for many people are sufficient reason to support it. However a full programme of activities for members is also maintained throughout the year, with visits to towns and buildings during the summer months and lectures in the winter.
Although the Society is primarily concerned with the conservation of historic buildings, its interests range from the prehistoric to the contemporary. It is also concerned that Ulster should have modern buildings of quality that will become the listed buildings of the future. Over the years the UAHS has established itself as a fearless campaigner for buildings of merit, a generous resource of information on local architecture, and a fair and helpful source of advice on conservation respected well beyond the nine counties of Ulster which are its constituency. There are many voluntary organisations protecting wildlife, but only the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society takes an interest in preserving the history and beauty that belong to our historic buildings. New members are always welcome.
Our Committee meets monthly and devises strategies for dealing with current issues of concern as well as organising outings activities and all the other aspects of the Society's work. For additional information about membership or publications, please contact the UAHS office.
Some past Buildings of the Month:
Harbour Office, Corporation Square, Belfast
Cottage near Trillick, Co Fermanagh
Former Elecricity Generating Station, East Bridge Street, Belfast
Gosford Castle, Markethill, Co Armagh
Drumalis, Larne, Co Antrim
Elmwood Hall, University Road, Belfast
Christian Science Church, Rugby Road, Belfast