Antrim Town Heritage Audit September 2020 Contents Page List of Tables List of Figures 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1 What is built heritage and why is it important? 4 1.2 The management of built heritage in Northern Ireland 7 1.3 Audit area 9 2.0 Historical setting 10 3.0 Landscape and Designations 13 3.1 Geological setting 13 3.2 Landscape Character 15 3.2.1 LCA 61- North Lough Neagh Shores 15 3.2.2 LCA 114- Six Mile Water Valley 16 4.0 Historical Maps 18 4.1 Cartographic Background 18 4.1.1 16th Century maps 18 4.1.2 17th Century maps 19 4.1.3 18th Century maps 21 4.1.4 19th Century maps 21 5.0 Parishes, Townlands and Placenames 24 6.0 Archaeological sites and monuments 33 7.0 Scheduled Monuments 42 8.0 Listed Buildings 43 9.0 Industrial Heritage 48 10.0 Historic Gardens and Parks 52 11.0 Opportunities for heritage development 61 1 List of Tables Table 1: Visitor numbers for built heritage sites in the Antrim Town area Table 2: Summary of heritage designations Table 3: List of archaeological monuments and sites recorded in the audit area Table 4: List of Listed Buildings recorded in the audit area Table 5: List of Industrial Heritage features recorded in the audit area Table 6: Indicative projects and associated costs List of Figures Figure 1: Location of audit area Figure 2: Geology of the area around Antrim Town Figure 3: Drift geology of the area around Antrim Town Figure 4: LCA 61 – North Lough Neagh Shores Figure 5: LCA 114- Six Mile Water Valley Figure 6: Extract from unknown map dating to 1587 and showing ‘Mafsaryn’ Figure 7: Map by Jobson dating to 1598 and showing ‘Antrem’ Figure 8: Bartlett map dating to 1601 and showing various features in the vicinity of Antrim Figure 9: Unknown map dating to c.1602 and showing ‘Mafsarin forte’ Figure 10: 1st Edition OS Map of Antrim Figure 11: 1st Edition OS Map showing the walled garden Figure 12: 1845 Demesne Map Figure 13: Extract from 1857 Ordnance Survey map showing Antrim Castle Figure 14: Archaeological sites and monuments Figure 15: Map showing location of Scheduled Monuments in the audit area Figure 16: Map showing location of Listed Buildings in the audit area Figure 17: Map showing location of Industrial Heritage features in the audit area Figure 18: Map showing location of Historic Gardens and Parks in the audit area. 2 1.0 Introduction The historic environment plays an important role in providing a sense of place and identity, supporting well-being, and promoting economic growth and community cohesion. As such, it is crucial that it is understood, valued, protected and made accessible to current and future generations. Collectively referred to as ‘heritage assets’, these significant archaeological sites and monuments, historic buildings, industrial sites, artefacts, historic gardens and other elements of our historic environment are tangible connections to our past and should be considered a finite resource. To effectively protect and manage these assets, it is important to collate information to understand what heritage assets we have and what organisational assets are available to help them reach their potential. This audit has evolved from a series of meetings with senior Officers from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council who, in consultation with elected Members, have identified the extensive heritage assets located in and around Antrim Town as a valuable resource that if appropriately utilised could be developed for the benefit of both residents and visitors. The purpose of the audit is to examine the heritage assets of Antrim Town, alongside the capacity and activities of relevant heritage organisations with the aim of building a picture of the sector and identifying opportunities for development that can further support the historic environment while strengthening community cohesion, opportunities and economic growth. The process of undertaking the audit has comprised three key stages: 1. Desktop survey 2. Fieldwork and Consultation 3. Site Visits The completed audit process will contribute to an informed framework for the development and implementation of built heritage related projects. This baseline data will allow Council (and potential partners) to undertake a programme of heritage works that are strategically relevant to the Community Plan and that deliver on sustainable development goals that align with economic objectives while all the time contributing to the conservation and protection of the heritage assets. The audit will also provide a series of recommendations that will help Council allocate future departmental resources (for possible tourism, local economic development, conservation, access, health & wellbeing etc projects related to the heritage assets) and will assist with securing future external funding and grant aid. Subject to future discussion, Lough Neagh Partnership would be willing to develop and manage a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with Council that would deliver a comprehensive built heritage “Great Place” scheme for Antrim Town. 3 1.1 What is built heritage and why is it important? Built heritage features are the physical remains that have been left by the past inhabitants of Antrim and its surrounding environs. The historic landscapes, monuments, buildings, structures and below ground remains have shaped the modern landscape and the resulting physical remains are layered throughout Antrim town and the villages and countryside surrounding it, and are testament to the rich and vibrant history of the area. Apparent today, for example, are the megalithic tombs, stone circles, raths, churches, castles, grand estates, town houses, mills and bridges, all left by the people living in the Antrim and Lough Neagh landscape. Historic town parks, gardens and demesnes, defence infrastructure as well as the archaeological, architectural and industrial remains are also evident and are an important part of the landscape. Many of the built heritage features in the Antrim area have been recognised as important and valuable having regional and national significance. These built heritage remains are valuable not only in helping us to explore our past, but also in the intrinsic role they can play in developing communities. Built heritage can add value to the cultural and economic experience of the area adding character and local distinctiveness to the countryside, towns and villages and is important for generating revenue through tourism and recreation, as well as having an impact on personal and societal wellbeing. As the importance of personal and societal wellbeing has become recognised, concern with influencing people’s happiness and sense of wellbeing has increased in priority for local and national government departments (Sayer 2015). Wellbeing now often features high on the agenda in central and local government and indeed, one of the key outcomes listed within the Antrim and Newtownabbey ‘Love Living Here’ Community Plan 2030, is to ensure ‘Our citizens enjoy good health and wellbeing’. Built heritage is increasingly being seen as playing an important role in the wider context of strategic policy and agenda, helping to achieve desired impact and improve outcomes. For example, its role is recognised in the Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland to 2020 where Lough Neagh is identified as one of nine key tourism destinations in Northern Ireland (DETI Draft Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland 2020). The Borough is located between two of Northern Ireland's most significant key tourism destination areas, namely Belfast and the Causeway Coast and Glens and has a strong hotel and conference facility provision. The region is also home to the Belfast International Airport (BIA) which is defined as a Gateway in the Regional Development Strategy (RDS) 2035 and provides excellent access to the ports of Belfast and Larne. In recognition of the value of built heritage to the economy, the Council in partnership with Tourism NI published the ‘Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Tourism Strategy 2017-2022’ which details the range of visitor servicing provision and activities offered throughout the Borough, and identifies potential opportunities for investment and growth including developments under culture and heritage themes. The importance of built heritage was also the subject of a local symposium on “Future Places: Using Heritage to Build Resilient Communities” where the then Communities Minister Paul Givan and Environment Minister Michelle McIlveen gave a joint address. The session considered how our built heritage would contribute to the Programme for Government and the Local Development Plans being drawn up by the local councils. These plans shape the places where we all work and live up until 2030. The three main areas of built heritage impact have been identified by English Heritage as follows: 4 • Individual impacts such as pleasure and fulfilment, meaning and identity, challenge and learning and the relationships between heritage participation and health and wellbeing. • Community impacts including social capital, community cohesion and citizenship. • Economic impacts such as job creation and tourism.’ (English Heritage 2014, 4). Individual Impact A recent study has demonstrated that visiting or participating in heritage has a significant positive relationship with life satisfaction (Fujiwara 2014, 5). Further it was found that the relationship with heritage was slightly higher than the impacts of participating in sports and the arts (ibid.). Of the eight different types of heritage site, visits to historic towns