Building Sensitively and Sustainably in County Louth

1. Page 31(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 31 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Village form and landscape Baltray Most of the cottages have been renewed or replaced, but there are some thatched cottages remaining. The scale is predominantly singlestorey. The outlook onto the estuary has been improved by a green area in front of the houses. The entrance to Baltray is effected across an ancient and very beautiful bridge, preceded by a pretty, restored thatched cottage. The village form is linear, with an irregular continuous string of buildings. On the Ordnance Survey map, each holding has a long 'garden' behind, which would have been used for growing vegetables. This form can be seen also in Clogherhead, further up the coast. Queensborough By contrast, nearby Queensborough is an estate village serving the Beaulieu estate. It too fronts onto the estuary, and forms an irregular string of buildings. However, these buildings are much more self-conscious, containing substantial Georgian houses as well as more modest single-storey estate cottages. They have long gardens which face the river, and fine stone wall boundaries. With mature tree-planting, they present an entirely different image to that of Baltray and a fascinating diversity of house types. Ancient bridge and farm buildings in Baltray village The stone boundary walls of Queensborough visually hold together the diverse building types

2. Page 32(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 32 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Summary of the patterns which have generated form Baltray • The village is positioned on the estuary beside the mouth of a small tributary. • The settlement is made up of small fishermen's cottages, with a smallholding at the rear for growing vegetables. • The scale is predominantly singlestorey. • The buildings were originally all thatched cottages, but many are now improved, enlarged, or replaced with stone and slate buildings, some two-storey. • The village has an open prospect onto the Boyne, which has been emphasised with a substantial public green area in front of the cottages. Queensborough • This is a landlord estate village, built to serve Beaulieu House and estate. It is built along the estuary and is backed by the mature woodlands of the estate. • There is a diversity of houses, including substantial Georgian residences, single-storey estate cottages, flat-roofed red-brick houses, and a modern country house. • They group together coherently because they all address the estuary and roadside, with gardens to the front and consistent treatment of boundaries with stone walling, and with a wooded backdrop which sets them within the landscape. Baltray – The old settlement form is intact, contained in the landscape by mature trees

3. Page 33(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 33 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Conclusion These villages, which are located close to each other on the Boyne estuary, show an essential contrast in type, between the informal, organic traditional village of Baltray and the much more self-conscious arrangement of houses and sites in Queensborough. Both have experienced considerable change, yet retain their essential quality. A magnificent stone wall marks the boundary of the Beaulieu demesne Baltray - Diversity of house types still retains village form

4. Page 34(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 34 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Clogherhead Coastal village Clogherhead retains the character of its original vocation as a fishing village, with a fascinating street of small houses leading down to the sea. However, it has been greatly changed and enlarged over the years, becoming the focal point for caravan tourism and the centre for a sizeable rural hinterland. The growth is evident in the plan of the village, which shows three stages of development over time. STAGE 2 STAGE 1 STAGE 3 Village form and landscape The village is located on a southerly slope. The main street is away from the coast, although it is connected by a straggling street of what were originally fishermen's cottages. The landscape is bleak and open because of its exposed seaside location, and the village is sheltered only by its own buildings and the enclosure of the street The street which leads down to the sea is lined with the sites of earlier fishing cottages, some of them with the original buildings with thatched roofs, some with much modified cottages, and others with modern houses crowding in on the small plots. The street terminates in an abrupt turn, beyond which a row of thatched cottages is placed right at the sea edge. The main street is also Figure-ground plan of Clogherhead Traditional two-storey thatched cottages at the end of the road, beside the sea

5. Page 35(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 35 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS of village scale: single- and twostorey cottages are interspersed with shops and pubs. The village has extended to the north and east with two further streets, one of which leads to the harbour and the other which connects the lower street with the upper one. The village spreads over the landscape, and retains a strong rural quality. Its various stages of growth have observed the basic rules of making a street with continuous development on either side, with small garden margins or no garden margins between houses and roads. The houses are almost all rendered, and painted in light colours. The few remaining thatched cottages are very precious as a reminder of the earlier character of the village. Most of the houses are roofed in natural slate. Main Street is sheltered from the sea by a mix of single and two-storey houses The original plots of the old fishermen's cottages are now crowded by the larger, modern houses Positioning of stores in front gardens derives from the original cottage plans

6. Page 36(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 36 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Summary of the patterns which have generated form • Fishermen's cottages are built on long, narrow plots with small front gardens and long rear gardens or vegetable plots. Stores and garages sometimes occupy the front garden. • The scale is small and village-like, with mostly single-storey buildings, but also with dormer cottages and two-storey replacements. Recent houses are mainly two-storey. • Buildings are aligned along streets - terraced or closely spaced - and give visual continuity to the façades, even though there is a diversity of house types. • The sloping streets accentuate the irregularity of buildings, producing a pleasing stepped sequence. • There is little planting to soften the appearance due to the coastal exposure, so gardens provide an important opportunity for shrubs and trees to grow, behind the shelter of boundary walls. Conclusion Over time, it seems that the village has absorbed stages of growth with a street-by-street extension. Further extension of the village could follow this pattern and avoid prominent sprawl in this exposed landscape. Traditional and modern houses side by side on the street

7. Page 37(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 37 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Collon Industrial landlord village Collon was a landlord village. It was the site for a sizeable cotton and linen factory, a flax mill, a large bleaching green, and three corn mills. The village had the ingredients for a model industrial revolution settlement, with a large factory employing six hundred people, builtup streets, an infants' school and a primary school, a market hall, a large Church of Ireland church (built in 1813), a Catholic chapel and a Wesleyan-Methodist chapel. Village form and landscape The location of the village relates to the river, which was the source of the steam and waterpower needed to drive industry. Whilst the factory was located in the valley, the village occupies the upper slopes, with a fine outlook onto the rolling landscape. The village is within the demesne of Oriel Temple, which also contains Mount Oriel. Collon is located at a crossroads on the N2, the national trunk road from Dublin to Derry. The earlier buildings of the settlement are located at the south end, towards the valley bottom, whereas the model village was created on two intersecting arms of the crossroads. The village green, design for an open-air market, is set Figure-ground plan of Collon Farmhouse overlooking the river below Collon

8. Page 38(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 38 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS back from the main road, with the market hall occupying the far end. The fourth arm of the crossroads from the west is largely unbuilt, and draws a beautiful landscape into the heart of the village. There is a fine, early Georgian terrace of houses at the east-west arm of the village. The village has been severely affected by its position on the N2, but the completion of the M1 motorway through the county will radically transform the situation and allow Collon to recapture its original neatness and charm. Village green opens to the main street Market hall and village green in the centre of Collon

9. Page 39(read from a scan)

   Cite this pagePDF p. 39 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
   SETTLEMENTS Summary of the patterns which have generated form • Collon is a crossroads village which was greatly improved in the lateeighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to give an urban quality to the streets. • Residential buildings generally front onto the street with little or no private open space in front. Public buildings are generally set back from the street edge. • A two-storey scale is maintained in the village. • There is a strong connection with the landscape. To the north, the rows of estate trees dominate, and to the south, the valley, with uninterrupted views across the countryside, dominates. Streets are not tightly enclosed, and the surrounding countryside is still dominant. Conclusion Collon is an interesting example of a model village, despite the fact that it never developed to any degree and the industrial buildings have all but disappeared. The reduction in traffic with the opening of the M1 will create a new opportunity to regenerate the village. Early Georgian terrace of houses Earlier buildings at the south end of the village

10. Page 40(read from a scan)

    Cite this pagePDF p. 40 (opens the publisher’s copy in a new tab)
    SETTLEMENTS Castlebellingham Landlord and brewery town Situated on the Dublin-Belfast road (the N1) the town's history is linked with the Bellingham family and the celebrated Castlebellingham ale. Their impact on the town can be observed in the large malt-house and brewery, the buildings of which remain, and the castellated gateway entrance to Castle Bellingham, beside which is a picturesque group of widows' cottages built around the Church of Ireland church. The main road meanders through the town, producing a sequence of pleasant views. Heading north, it starts at the bridge, goes by the gateway and alms houses, then passes a triangular space with trees, dominated by the old brewery buildings, followed by a bifurcation of the road. There are several local routes which meet in the town and connect with the main road. Figure-ground plan of Castlebellingham

Source Louth County Council: Building Sensitively and Sustainably in County Louth · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.