Fernhill House Outbuildings, Glencairn Park, Glencairn Road, Belfast, BT13 3PT

Fernhill House Outbuildings, Glencairn Park, Belfast

An intact courtyard of outbuildings of architectural and historic interest, forming a group with Fernhill House to the south. Built around 1880, the complex comprises a multi-bay two-storey outbuilding to the west, a three-bay single-storey outbuilding to the north with a further three-bay single-storey outbuilding adjoining to the south, all enclosed within boundary walls to the south and east. The buildings now stand vacant.

The outbuildings are constructed of coursed rubble sandstone with red brick dressings and stone piers, providing an interesting contrast with the Classical-Revival mansion adjacent. The pitched replacement slate roof features overhanging eaves with exposed rafter ends, uPVC moulded guttering and uPVC circular downpipes. The single-storey outbuildings have monopitched slate roofs. Square-headed and segment-headed openings throughout have brick surrounds and painted stone sills. The two-storey western block's front elevation faces east and displays a pair of segment-headed openings on a red brick pilaster with painted stone at plinth and impost level. The south elevation contains a door opening with moulded brick surround and header, with a metal casement window opening to the first floor. Timber bargeboards are present. The boundary wall adjoining to the east features a rendered coping stone and semi-circular arch with red brick surround, stone at plinth and impost level. Square-plan rock-faced piers with dressed margins to the south-east stand on a sandstone plinth with pyramidal coping. The single-storey outbuildings within the courtyard are built of coursed rubble stone with rendered and painted walls inset with painted brick dressings facing south and west. Original chimneys are no longer extant.

The property's outbuildings are recorded in the 1901 census as comprising a stable, coach house, harness room, cow house, calf house, dairy, fowl house, boiling house, barn, shed and store. From 1898 the complex was owned by Samuel Cunningham, a prominent Belfast stockbroker whose family held a prominent position in the city's commercial life. Cunningham developed a keen interest in horse racing and stocked the stable yard with racehorses, the most notable being 'Tipperary Tim', which won the 1928 Aintree Grand National. The property remained with the Cunningham family until the 1960s, when it was taken over by Belfast Corporation. From 1975 to 1990 it housed the city's Parks Department, and from 1996 to around 2008 it operated as a community museum.

The outbuildings are situated on an elevated position overlooking Fernhill House to the south and Glencairn Park to the east, retaining their original tree-lined avenue approach and extensive views across the parkland. The courtyard is surrounded by mature planting and vegetation, now overgrown to the west and north.