Glengormley House

[whitewell]

Hi Liscoole,
In researching my family tree, I found that a great aunt of mine, Mrs. Margaret T Pender
(1848-820) lived in Glengormley House around the latter end of the 19th century, from c.1875-1896. Before Glengormley House, she lived in the black-stone houses attached to Whitewell Printing Works, where her husband, Owen Pender, worked. Mrs Pender was herself a well known poet and authoress of the day and had many stories published in the national irish press from 1885 to her death in 1920. She also had several books published around this time and was considered to be one of the best writers of Irish Fiction of her day. Sadly now her work has fallen into obscurity but I have been able to unearth much of her work from old newspapers etc.
Incidentally, I grew up on the Whitewell Road, just below Bellevue steps, and lived there from the 1940's until the 1960's, so I am very familiar with the area.
Whitewell

[whitewell]

Hi Liscoole,
In researching my family tree, I found that a great aunt of mine, Mrs. Margaret T Pender
(1848-820) lived in Glengormley House around the latter end of the 19th century, from c.1875-1896. Before Glengormley House, she lived in the black-stone houses attached to Whitewell Printing Works, where her husband, Owen Pender, worked. Mrs Pender was herself a well known poet and authoress of the day and had many stories published in the national irish press from 1885 to her death in 1920. She also had several books published around this time and was considered to be one of the best writers of Irish Fiction of her day. Sadly now her work has fallen into obscurity but I have been able to unearth much of her work from old newspapers etc.
Incidentally, I grew up on the Whitewell Road, just below Bellevue steps, and lived there from the 1940's until the 1960's, so I am very familiar with the area.
Whitewell

[liscoole]

Hi Whitewell

thanks so much for your very interesting posts! Have you any other information about the old house during the time that your great aunt lived there? I must say the photo of her is fabulous. She was a very beautiful woman as well as obviously talented at writing.
As you probably know the old house is now an appartment building. They have tried to keep some sense of the original design by way of a facade at the front entrance. It always fascinated me as I grew up very close to it and it was so old and grey compared to the rest of the houses in the immediate vicinity. We used to dare each other to run through the grounds and the old ladies who lived there would beat the windows at us and shake their sticks... (bad and naughty, I know!  ) That's why I decided to find out some of its history. So Ive tracked it back to its original owner and builder, Alan Gardner Brown (the house was built in 1834). As far as I can tell, most of his siblings and some of his children went off to live in Dublin. Not surprising considering the location of the house- right at the very top of a hill! It must have been a very cold place in the winter!
Anway, thanks again for your post and very interested to hear if you have anything else about your aunt or the old house.
Liscoole

[whitewell]

Hi Liscoole,
Sorry I can't add too much info about the origins of Glengormley House, but like you, I can remember it from my youth as a rather imposing building, in its own grounds, looking rather out of place among the new bungalows. Incidentally, my old Art Teacher from BRA, Michael Baird, lived in one of the apartments in the 1950's-60's. He painted some of his best works from the hills above Colinward. However, I can give you an interesting quote from Mrs Pender's Family Bible, written in her hand :-   January 13, 1881.  How time flies. This old book is here yet and me too. I see some old and some new entries here, this is another. Margaret Theresa Doherty Pender has three sons and two daughters, two of the boys are at school and the rest at home.I have sent three poems to 'The Nation' and ' The Freeman' as my contribution to the cause of Irish liberty.
'Tis a wet and cold foggy day and Willie, with a yellow, curley head is running around the floor with Nora and Maggie. I have an ulster to make for Nora and a coat for John to go to school. Twenty years ago, my Mother was doing the same for me - dear Ma. Owen is at work. I have a box of geraniums inside the window and a box of snowdrops and crocuses outside Glengormley House
Do you want to know what I am like? I have on a red petticoat and black jacket with canvas slippers - working gear. My hair is tossed about my brow, I am not old looking and I don't feel old.
Willie is pulling me, I must stop.
This snapshot in time gives a brief insight to life in Glengormley House in the 1880's - Willie, Nora and John are Mrs. P's children and Owen is her husband.
Hope this is useful,
Whitewell.

[Newgent_for_life]

 Dear Whitewell,
I was born, Belfast, 1942 and was brought up in the vacinity of Whitrwell/Glengormley as my parents liven in Moreland Avenue. My father new, and often visited a Mr Shelledy, the Company Secretary of the Laundry, who lived in one of the houses butting on to the rear of the Laundry. I also knew, and was friendly with Robert McGladdery who's father was the company electrician. My parents were friendly with Major and Mrs. James St. Clair Finlay of Whitewell Road. I in turn was friendly with Desmond Finlay (not related), Billy Dunlop, Whitewell Terrace and Jim Kelly who's father was a farmer. As I said in a previous entry I knew all the residents of Glengormley House.
Looking forward to your comments. In the meantime I'll see what I can unearth.

Yours, etc.,  Newgent.

[whitewell]

Dear Newgent,

It sounds like we must have crossed paths at some time as we have some mutual friends judging from the names you mentioned. I lived a few doors from Dessie and Brian Finlay on the Whitewell Road and not far from Major Finlay's family, whose sons, Steven and Alan, were close friends to myself and my brothers.  I also knew James and Desmond Kelly from Kelly's farm as that's where we got all our eggs and buttermilk in the 1950's. I was born in 1944 so we are of a similar age. Glengormley House was therefore slightly out of our immediate area, but we made regular forays up to Colinward and the old Laundry buildings where we fished in the Mill dams and tried to climb the old factory chimney ( unsuccessfully, I might add ) - these areas would be very familiar to you. Sadly the whole area is now swamped by urban development and nowadays bears little resemblence to how I remember it. Still, it's nice to correspond to someone who can relate to the area as it was when I was growing up.
Best wishes,
Whitewell. 

[liscoole]

Hi again Whitewell (and Newgent!)

Thanks for your posts, I have been offline for a while due to switching providers but it's great to see the additions to this topic.

My neighbour who is now in her late 70's remembers the house well and had a friend who lived there. I think this was round the era that Tom McBride was on the scene.

Whitewell, thanks for sharing your ancestors diary entries, very interesting reading!

Best wishes
Liscoole

[Newgent_for_life]

   Hello Liscoole, it's good to be able to correspond with you and others at Rootschat again. If you could put a name to your friend's friend who lived in Glengormley house, perhaps I in turn could put a date.

Yours, etc.,      Newgent.

[pcult]

HI:
I am in the middle of researching Margaret T. Pender and would love to share information. Did you know her story O'Neil of the Glen was made into Ireland's first all Irish movie in 1916?  Donna