Merville Garden Village

Merville Garden Village is a housing estate located at Shore Road, Whitehouse, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland created by structural and landscape architect Edward Prentice Mawson. It was completed in 1949.

Historical background

Merville was originally a private estate built around Merville House^[1] that was built in 1795. From 1795 to 1947 the original Merville estate has been owned by some of the fêted people in Belfast.^[2] Between 1849-1887 it was the residence of Sir Edward Coey, the first and only Liberal Party Mayor of Belfast in 1861 and a prominent businessman, who helped make Belfast one of the most prosperous manufacturing centres in the world during the 19th century.^[2][3] However, between 1947-49 the Garden Village, the first such housing development in Ireland, was constructed. It was the idea of Lurgan-born builder Thomas McGrath who had established his company, Ulster Garden Villages Limited, in January 1946. Merville was designed with a French architectural twist, which initially influenced McGrath when serving in France as a Royal Engineers' soldier in the First World War.

English architect Edward Prentice Mawson, eldest son of the garden designer Thomas Hayton Mawson, became McGrath's choice of architect for the project after being introduced to him by his site manager Jesse Williams who previously worked with Mawson in England. Mawson was the consultant architect of all of McGrath's ambitious Garden Village schemes in Northern Ireland. Apart from Merville these were at Abbots Cross, Fernagh, Prince's Park, King's Park, Muckamore and Whitehead, all in County Antrim. The Merville development was of 256 apartments, 28 cottage flats, 146 detached and semi-detached houses and a row of 14 shops. The building work was completed in 1949.

Conservation Area designation

Merville Garden Village was designated a conservation area on 23 June 1995 because of its unique architecture and landscape and is the only neighbourhood in the borough of Newtownabbey to have this protection.^[4]

Merville House restoration

In April 2000 Patricia Pepper, Jackie Thompson and Brian McNally began the restoration of Merville House when they met Belfast Regeneration Office officials, amongst others. The meeting with potential funders was initiated by local North Belfast MLA Fred Cobain after a chance meeting with MRA committee member Barbara McPhee. However, Stephen Hamilton, another Merville resident, joined the committee and formally set up Merville House Limited in February 2002 to help garner funding for the project. Other key players in the Merville House team included the late Jackie Thompson, and Carol and Colin Simms who assisted with grant applications. The scheme was ultimately funded by Ulster Garden Villages Limited, International Fund for Ireland, Newtownabbey Borough Council, Newtownabbey Local Strategy Partnership and Belfast Local Strategy Partnership and a private donor. The house was officially re-opened on 27 April 2006 by Baroness Blood, a well-known community activist in west Belfast. Today Merville House is used by the whole community.

60th anniversary celebration

On 25 September 2009 a celebration was organised by Merville Residents' Association to mark the 60th anniversary of the completion of the village with guest of honour Thomas Prentice Mawson,^[5] the son of Edward Prentice Mawson. Thomas was a member of the original Merville design team led by his father. Other dignatories at the event included Alderman John Scott, Mayor of Newtownabbey, and Tony Hopkins CBE, the head of Ulster Garden Villages Limited. Merville Residents' Association will provide a definitive account of Merville's history in its upcoming new website.

Notable residents

• Sir Stanley Spencer KBE CBE RA DLitt 20th century British artist and the UK's official war artist (1939–45)
• Sir T. Desmond Lorimer KBE FCA DSc Former head of Northern Bank, Northern Ireland Electricity, Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Lamont Holdings Plc and Ulster Garden Villages Limited^{[citation needed]}
• Lieutenant-Colonel John F. Hunter MC OBE ARCA (Lond) RUA Decorated soldier, landscape painter and wood engraver, past-president of the Royal Ulster Academy of Art (RUA) (1943–47) and first Inspector of Art Education in Northern Ireland (1923)^{[citation needed]}
• Reverend A P Black MA Cleric of Castledawson Presbyterian Church, Co. Londonderry (1910)^{[citation needed]}
• Major Hugh Alexander Veteran of the Far East campaign during WW2 and recipient of the Burma Star medal^{[citation needed]}
• Captain Clifford Macdonald Ashe BA (QUB) H.Dip.Ed (Oxon.) Army Captain 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment (1939-45), and later Schoolmaster of CCPS^{[citation needed]}
• Rosemary Faith Actress^{[citation needed]}
• Brian Durkin One of the original six 'in vision' presenters at the historic launch of Ulster Television on 31 October 1959^{[citation needed]}
• J. Ralph Brew Jazz musician^{[citation needed]}
• Reverend Dr Douglas Frazer-Hurst Cleric and author^{[citation needed]}
• Dr J P Alexander Senior Consultant Anaesthetist, Department Clinical Anaesthesia, Belfast City Hospital^{[citation needed]}
• Dr Alastair N J Graham Senior Cardiothoracic Consultant, Cardiac Surgical Unit, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast^{[citation needed]}
• Professor Bill Ellis Director of Veterinary Sciences Division, Department of Northern Ireland Agriculture and Rural Development^{[citation needed]}
• Gordon R. Irwin OBE Chief Executive of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners (1986–2003) and formerly board member of the Laganside Corporation and United Kingdom Major Ports Group Ltd^{[citation needed]}
• Tim Loane Actor, Director, Playwright and currenty Lecturer in Creative Writing at Queen’s University, Belfast. Co-founder of the independent Tinderbox Theatre Company in Northern Ireland. Director of the Oscar-nominated Short Film Dance Lexie Dance^[6]
• Dr Mervyn Gifford Senior healthcare professional specialising and lecturing in Public Health Medicine at the University of Skövde in Sweden. He has undertaken research into diet and inflammatory processes in coronary heart disease.^{[citation needed]}
• Peter Martin Businessman with interests in the UK & Republic of Ireland and a former radio presenter^{[citation needed]}
• Denis Robb London-based qualitative consumer market research expert. Joint founder of The Research Practice, London^{[citation needed]}
• Mark Pepper Artist^{[citation needed]}
• Belinda Larmour Violinist, current lecturer at the QUB School of Music, ex-BBC Northern Ireland television director and portrait painter^{[citation needed]}
• Damien Coyle Artist and Vice Chairperson of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland^{[citation needed]}
• Gerry Simpson QC Barrister^{[citation needed]}
• Denis McBride Irish Rugby Union player^{[citation needed]}
• Jeremy McWilliams Motorbike road racer^{[citation needed]}
• Jim Neilly BBC Sport Broadcaster and commentator^{[citation needed]}
• Jeanie Johnston Ex-Ulster Television (UTV) broadcast journalist and features editor. She is currently Head of Communications for South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust^{[citation needed]}
• Reverend David J. Kerr MBE President of the Methodist Church in Ireland (1998–99)^{[citation needed]}
• David Olver Formerly BBC Radio 2 presenter and BBC Northern Ireland continuity announcer^{[citation needed]}
• Professor William J. Hatton Department of Pharmacology of the University of Nevada, School of Medicine^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Merville House official website
2. ^ ^{a b} Ulster History Circle article on Sir Edward Coey, resident of Merville House, accessed 12 July 2010
3. ^ Plaque honours ham entrepreneur, BBC News, 18 November 2006, accessed 11 July 2010
4. ^ Northern Ireland Planning Service website - conservation area map and documentation: accessed 12 July 2010
5. ^ Thomas Prentice Mawson at the Mawson Kendal archive
6. ^ Tim Loane at the Internet Movie Database

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland

Coordinates: 54°39′21″N 5°54′46″W / 54.65583°N 5.91278°W / 54.65583; -5.91278