Old Bawn, 32-34 Whitehouse Park, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT37 9SQ

Old Bawn (Whitehouse Bawn)

Whitehouse Bawn is a rare surviving example of a seventeenth-century fortified house, standing as a roofless double-height structure within a late twentieth-century housing development close to the eastern shore of Belfast Lough. The building represents an important historical record of the difficult circumstances of seventeenth-century settlement in this region and remains significant within the context of Northern Ireland's architectural heritage.

The structure is a detached, double-height fortified house built around 1600, located at the north side of Whitehouse Park. It comprises a rectangular block of random rubble stone construction, divided into three bays and flanked by substantial circular defensive towers on either side of the principal elevation. The walling is random rubble stone throughout. The roof has been removed.

The principal elevation features a central segmental-headed window opening (a later insertion) flanked by door openings, each with window openings above them. All fixtures and fittings have been removed, and all openings except the left door have been blocked. The flankers contain various small openings and loops. The side and rear facades are bounded by neighbouring properties and enclosed by random rubble stone walling to Whitehouse Park. All windows have been removed and are now blocked.

Dating and Historical Background

A timber window lintel recovered from the house was dendrochronologically dated to AD 1589–1624, supporting the circa 1600 dating. The first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1834 shows a collection of buildings on the site arranged on a quadrangular plan around a central courtyard. The third edition Ordnance Survey map of 1902 records the building as "Bawn".

Griffith's Valuation of 1859 records the site as "Herd's house, Office and Lands, [Waste] of road, yard and quay, and a coal yard", with John Thomson as occupier and the Marquis of Donegall as lessor. The buildings were not valued, with the total land value recorded as £20. Nearby buildings mentioned in the same records as part of the courtyard group included two houses with gardens owned by Robert Joynt and Alexander Mee respectively; the former had buildings valued at £13 and the latter at £3, with John Thomson listed as lessor for both properties.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1839 state: "The existing remains of this house not only bear the appearance of great antiquity, but also of great strength. Its original height was either four or five storeys, but has been unroofed and lowered to its present height about 70 years since…. No arch work appears in any part of the building. Strong oak lintels were used in all cases over the doors, windows and fireplaces."

According to C.E.B. Brett (Buildings of County Antrim, 1996, p. 18), King William III spent the night in this house on 14 June 1690, though no source is provided for this claim.

Modern History

From the 1930s the building was used as a gospel hall. It was acquired in 1996 by Ulster Garden Villages on behalf of the Abbey Historical Society. In 2000 it was transferred to the White House Preservation Trust, who undertook major refurbishment works.