20 Abbeydene Manor, (Previously 367 Shore Road), Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT37 9JQ

20 Abbeydene Manor, Newtownabbey

This is a detached three-bay two-storey Italianate house built around 1850, located west of Shore Road overlooking Belfast Lough to the east. The building is rectangular on plan, facing east, with a prominent porch.

The roof is hipped artificial slate with sandstone chimneystacks to the ridge, featuring chamfered bases and overhanging caps. The walling is constructed of random-cut sandstone ashlar with straight-channel jointed quoins over a projecting plinth. The façade is detailed with a modillioned cornice, a moulded stringcourse between the first and ground floors, and sill courses. Windows are square-headed with moulded architraves surmounted by entablatures, projecting plinths, and aprons with recessed central panels.

The east elevation is centrally abutted by a porch. The exposed elevation features a first floor central tripartite window with a segmental pediment on consol brackets. The porch itself comprises a Roman Doric distyle portico in antis with a full Doric entablature, straight channelled quoins, and a balustraded parapet to its flat roof. The portico is enclosed by plate glass framed and supported on painted timber plinths with nailhead panels. The centre contains a square-headed glazed and varnished timber double-leaf door with a single raised and fielded panel, flanked by painted cast-iron barley-twisted Composite colonnettes and surmounted by an overlight, accessed by three steps. The porch cheeks are identical, each containing a central round-headed painted timber four-light casement with moulded architraves, imposts, and keystone.

The south elevation is detailed as the principal elevation but has block-marked rendered walling with rendered stringcourses. The left end has one window to each storey; the first floor centre has round-headed replacement timber casements. The ground floor centre has a replacement varnished timber door with sidelights, detailed similar to the principal elevation.

The west (rear) elevation is two bays wide, each bay containing two windows. The ground floor of each bay is abutted by a bow bay of three windows with a balustraded parapet to a flat roof. The bow bay windows are bowed 1/1 sashes with keystones to the architraves.

The north elevation's left half is two windows wide, whilst the right half projects slightly. The ground floor is abutted by a Doric pro-style portico with a balcony roof, featuring four columns protruding from four pilasters flanking three round-headed windows with keystones.

The windows throughout are 2/2 sashes with horns, and rainwater goods are of cast metal.

The building first appears on the second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1857. Griffith's Valuation of 1859 records the property as a house, offices and land called 'Lismara', occupied by John Finlay and valued at £170. According to the current owner, the name was changed to Abbeydene House when it served as General Eisenhower's County Antrim headquarters during the Second World War. General Eisenhower visited the house in 1945, then owned by Belfast Mayor McCullough, after being awarded the Civic Award at Belfast City Hall. The house was renamed Abbeydene by the Mayor's son following his father's death in 1948.

The house underwent reconstruction by Frazer Homes around 1993, when it replaced all plasterwork and the majority of the sash windows. At that time it was owned by Moore Homes and used as an administration block for the surrounding residential care home. The house was opened as a Bed and Breakfast by the current owner in 2007.

The building is set on the east shore of Belfast Lough on grounds with mature sequoia and other trees scattered throughout, now developed with modern similarly designed housing. A Tree Preservation Order is in place on the sequoia trees in the immediate context of the house. The original impressive location with views to Belfast Lough has been marred by recent housing development to the immediate east of the building. Despite this degradation of setting, the building retains its character and historic interest as a good example of mid-Victorian Italianate domestic architecture, enhanced by recent sympathetic restoration reflecting the original grandeur of the façade.