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remainder of the courtyard is formed by a rubble wall, with a gateway on the south. The outbuildings overlook the house on the south and
Glencairn Park on the east. The roofs are not original and are made from slate. The eave overhang and the rafter ends are exposed. Guttering and downpipes are in uPVC, bargeboards are in timber. The windows of the outbuildings are generally square-topped with brick surrounds, though there are some segment-headed openings on the ground floor. The entire complex, including the house, is enclosed by a stone boundary wall to the west and north and metal fencing to east and south. It is surrounded by mature planting and vegetation which is overgrown on the west and north sides.
170:. The south elevation has a ground-floor projection with a flat roof, detailed with cornicing. The south-east wing has a hipped, pyramidal slate roof. The north elevation has three windows, one on the ground floor and two on the first floor, that overlook the extensions. Original features such as window shutters and ornate interior ceiling roses and cornices are thought to survive.
236:. By the time of the 1901 census 14 rooms in the main house were occupied. Cunningham also made extensive use of the outbuildings including as a stable, coach house, harness room, cow and calf house, dairy, fowl house, boiling house, barn, shed and store. The stables were said to be well stocked with racehorses. One of Cunningham's horses,
287:. At some point in the mid 1960s the house's gate lodge, a cruciform part-gabled and part-hipped roof structure, was demolished. The house was the home of Belfast Council's parks department between 1975 and 1990. The site was chosen as the location for the announcement of the 1994 loyalist ceasefire. This was announced by the UVF's
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in May 2016). The buildings remain in the ownership of
Belfast City Council who have no current plans for works but state they are open to opportunities with third parties to restore the site. The site was the focal point for celebrations for recent centennials of the First World War and the 75th
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A collection of outbuildings lie to the north, forming an enclosed courtyard. The west face is formed by a two-storey-long structure, the north by a three-bay single-storey structure adjoined to a three-bay single-storey structure that runs southwards and forms part of the east boundary. The
134:. There is a later wing added to the south-west and a number of one- to two-storey extensions to the north. The entrance is via a one-storey flat-roofed porch in the centre of the east elevation of the original portion. The entrance steps are stone and the door is timber-panelled with a
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because of risks to the structure. Local campaign group Ulster
Architectural Heritage consider it has architectural and historic significance. On 24 March 2016 the house and the outbuildings were separately granted statutory protection as
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The museum closed in 2008 and the site has since lain vacant. It was last surveyed in 2014 when concern was raised over rot damaging the interior, which has been described as derelict. The site has been listed on the
299:. The house opened as a community museum, run by the Glencairn People's Project, in 1996. It featured local history and the service of Ulstermen in the two world wars and also housed the world's largest collection of
186:. Shortly after construction it was valued at £65. Smith died on 16 November 1874 but the house remained in his family's possession. The outbuildings were added to the north around 1880.
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in 2019. Local volunteers have occasionally helped to clean the buildings' exteriors. A local teenager became interested in the house after noticing it on walks taken during the
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Before the house was built the area was open countryside. Fernhill House was built by local butter merchant John Smith in 1864, it was likely designed by the Irish architect
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107:. The building has since stood vacant and is listed as being at risk. The building and outbuildings were separately granted listed building protection in 2016.
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in 1962 and opened to the public as
Glencairn Park. The house housed the municipal parks department between 1975 and 1990. Fernhill House was selected by the
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67:. It was built in 1864 for the local butter merchant John Smith, with outbuildings added to the north in 1880. It was sold by Smith's family to businessman
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Fernhill House is located on the east side of
Glencairn Road in Belfast. It has an elevation of 300 feet (91 m) above sea level and enjoys views of the
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166:. The chimneys are also rendered and detailed with string courses and moulded cornices. The guttering and downpipes are in modern
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fashion. It is detailed with decorative moulded bands and the whole is painted. The openings are generally segment-topped timber
103:. From 1996 to 2008 the building housed a museum exhibiting items of local history, Ulster's military history and relating to the
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reviewed a regiment of the UVF in the grounds of the house, many of these went on to serve in the
British forces during the
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and a moulded door surround. The east elevation is symmetrical and fully rendered, in a
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from 1921 to 1945. As well as
Fernhill Cunningham owned two other houses in the area,
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style. It is detached with the main, original, two-storey portion consisting of three
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518:"Mansion where the UVF hid its guns during Home Rule crisis is given listed status"
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259:(UVF) stored arms and ammunition in the house's stableyard. In June 1914 Sir
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as the site for their 1994 ceasefire declaration, which presaged the 1998
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83:. Cunningham also kept racing horses in the house's stables, including
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Smith's family sold the estate to local stockbroker and businessman
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The estate was bought by
Belfast Corporation (after 1973 known as
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320:(whose protection of historic buildings role transferred to the
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283:) in 1962, the grounds were afterwards opened to the public as
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For the Cause of
Liberty: A Thousand Years of Ireland's Heroes
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481:"Belfast teenager campaigning to save listed building"
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Former entrance to the house, now the park entrance
251:, to the main house around 1910. During the 1912
247:Cunningham added the south west wing, designed by
309:Register of Buildings at Risk in Northern Ireland
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428:. No. 1556. 17 September 2021. p. 23.
333:and is leading a campaign for its restoration.
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75:who used the grounds to train members of the
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449:"HB26/38/004 B Fernhill House Outbuildings"
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635:Buildings and structures completed in 1864
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545:Northern Ireland: The Fragile Peace
479:Corscadden, Jane (27 August 2021).
318:Northern Ireland Environment Agency
91:. The estate was purchased by the
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542:Cochrane, Feargal (9 March 2021).
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293:Combined Loyalist Military Command
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516:Stewart, Linda (26 March 2016).
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372:"HB26/38/004 A Fernhill House"
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569:Golway, Terry (22 May 2012).
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222:Ulster Provisional Government
119:to the north and, across the
331:2020-2021 Covid-19 lockdowns
198:Cunningham, pictured in 1921
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71:in 1898. He was a staunch
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322:Department for Communities
226:Senate of Northern Ireland
216:, a leading member of the
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640:Grade B2 listed buildings
599:Ireland Pocket Adventures
453:Historic Building Details
376:Historic Building Details
314:grade B2 listed buildings
126:Fernhill House is in the
212:newspaper and a staunch
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269:36th (Ulster) Division
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34:54.613139°N 5.981611°W
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224:from 1911 and in the
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249:Thomas William Henry
39:54.613139; -5.981611
242:1928 Grand National
93:Belfast Corporation
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63:in Glencairn Road,
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301:Orange Order
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455:. NI Direct
426:Private Eye
378:. NI Direct
111:Description
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624:Categories
337:References
240:, won the
144:rusticated
128:Neoclassic
214:unionist
164:brackets
152:keystone
140:cornices
136:fanlight
73:unionist
316:by the
178:History
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160:eaves
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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