former Good Templar Hall, 1A Hamilton Road, Bangor, Co Down, BT20 4JP

Former Good Templar Hall, 1A Hamilton Road, Bangor, County Down

Constructed in 1872 to designs by Belfast-based architect Francis Stirrat, this former temperance society hall holds the distinction of being the first Good Templar Hall built in Ireland, and remains one of only a few surviving examples. It is not listed, as the building has been stripped of its original external decoration and reconfigured internally since the time of survey, leaving insufficient original historic fabric to merit listing. However, it retains significance both architecturally and historically, and together with the neighbouring Orange Hall immediately to the east — also designed by Stirrat and completed in April 1874 — forms an important feature within the streetscape of central Bangor.

Building Description

The hall is a partially attached, three-bay single-storey gable-fronted building of rectangular plan. A single-bay section of contemporary style and date abuts to the west. The principal south elevation fronts Hamilton Road in central Bangor; the rear north elevation addresses Bingham Lane. A single-storey flat-roofed extension, concealed behind the western bay of the main elevation, abuts to the west elevation.

The roof is pitched and covered with fibre-cement tiles, with a decorative finial to the southern apex. Stone coping, painted, runs to the north and south verges. Brickwork forms the eaves course to east and west elevations, pierced by iron patress plates, with uPVC rainwater goods mounted to these courses. The walling to the principal south elevation is ruled-and-lined rendered masonry, painted over a contrasting plinth.

Principal South Elevation

The principal elevation is symmetrical and gable-fronted across three bays, with the contemporary single-bay single-storey section to the left (west) side incorporating a single window opening and a parapet that conceals the mid-20th-century flat-roofed extension behind. A semi-circular date panel to the apex of the gable is inscribed "GOOD TEMPLAR HALL A.D 1872."

The window openings to the south elevation are pointed-arched, with chamfered reveals and heads, painted hood-moulds, projecting painted stone sills, and historic 2/2 pointed-arched sliding timber sash windows with profiled horns and rolled glass. The central bay of the main hall elevation features a pointed-arched door opening with hood-moulding, chamfered head and reveals, and timber-sheeted double-leaf doors with a bipartite timber overlight. Single window openings flank this central doorway.

Other Elevations

The west elevation is abutted by the mid-20th-century flat-roofed extension, which is itself abutted by the adjoining bank building to the west. The rear north elevation is of roughly coursed rubblestone construction, with red brick to the centre marking the position of a previous chimneybreast. A modern metal vent has been inserted left of centre. To the left side there is a square-headed door opening with raised cement-rendered surrounds and modern steel-sheeted double-leaf doors. A blank smooth-rendered wall of the modern extension projects to the right side, with concrete coping above. The east elevation contains four square-headed window openings with chamfered heads and reveals, painted masonry sills, and historic 2/2 sliding sash timber windows with plain glass and profiled horns.

Materials

Roof: fibre-cement tiles. Rainwater goods: uPVC. Walls: painted ruled-and-lined render. Windows: 2/2 sliding timber sash.

Historical Background

The hall was built for the Good Templars, a temperance society that had gathered rapid support in Bangor. By 1871 the order had established itself in the town, and by the following year two lodges had been formed with a combined membership of 200, along with a juvenile lodge of 60 members. Members took a pledge of total abstinence and undertook the promotion of temperance as part of their religion, as noted in the Belfast News Letter. The hall was intended to provide an alternative place of amusement away from the public houses. Stirrat's original design comprised a reading room, coffee room and caretaker's apartments on the ground floor, with a separate stair access to the west leading to a large hall on the upper floor for public meetings.

The Belfast News Letter of 2nd April 1872 noted that the cost of the hall was not expected to exceed £450, as the carpentry work was to be carried out by the Bangor brethren after hours. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Dufferin on 1st April 1872, and a concert was held on 9th August 1873 for the formal opening of the hall, as recorded in the Newtownards Chronicle. The hall first appears on the third edition Ordnance Survey map (1899–1904) and was noted in the Annual Revisions of 1872, listed under the trustee Henry Montgomery with a rateable value of £17.

Over the course of the 20th century the building served a variety of purposes. The Bangor Harmonic Society rehearsed here during the 1900s. Annual Revisions from 1918 to 1938 record it as both a Petty Sessions courthouse and a meeting place of the Bangor Christian Workers Society. In 1939 the Ministry of Food took over the building for use as offices and stores, as noted in the Spectator of 24th September 1955. The site originally formed part of the Ward (later Clanmorris) estate, but by 1941 ownership had passed to the Trustees of the Good Templar Hall. Ownership later passed to the local council, which maintained the founding ban on alcohol in keeping with the building's original principles. The hall was used as a community hall until recent years, and came under new ownership in February 2016.

Alterations

Although Stirrat's two-level arrangement is likely to have been that which was originally built, no evidence of this layout now survives. The roof was replaced during the latter half of the 20th century, removing any trace of previous rooflights which, given the absence of high-level windows, would have been necessary to light the upper floor. The former western block, which is thought to have contained the stair leading to the upper hall, was entirely replaced by a flat-roofed extension in the mid-20th century. The building has since been stripped of its original external decoration and reconfigured internally.

Background to the Good Templars

A number of temperance and total abstinence societies were established during the mid-19th century in response to the perceived social damage caused by alcohol and its detrimental effect on industrial productivity. In Ireland, the earliest temperance societies were based in Dublin and Belfast, largely organised by Protestant clergy and the upper classes. The International Order of Good Templars was established in 1851 in the United States, with a lodge founded in Birmingham, England in 1868, from which the movement spread rapidly to Ireland, Wales, New Zealand, France, South Africa and elsewhere. The order took its name from the Knights Templar, a religious order of knights founded in 1109, and modelled its structure on Freemasonry, employing similar rituals and symbols. Unusually for the period, the order made no distinction on the basis of race or gender, treating all members equally. Many temperance orders established tea rooms offering wholesome food at low prices as an alternative to the public house.

The Bangor hall was the first Good Templar Hall to be built in Ireland. Other surviving examples include a hall in Annalong, and the Carrickfergus Hall, which has been relocated to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

Setting

The building is street-fronted on the north-western side of Hamilton Road, within the urban setting of central Bangor. It is abutted to the west by single-storey extensions of the present bank building, and the east elevation is in close proximity to the Orange Hall, which is contemporary with the Good Templar Hall. The principal elevation overlooks the grounds of St Comgall's Church, while the rear north elevation addresses Bingham Lane.