NI Water to refurbish iconic Silent Valley house
13 February 2025 13:04
As part of NI Water’s ongoing commitment to protecting listed assets in its care, work is set to get underway this month on the refurbishment of the 120-year-old water superintendent’s house located at the entrance to Silent Valley.
Constructed by the Belfast City & District Water Commissioners at the turn of the 20th century, the two-storey granite structure was built to house the superintendent during the construction of the Silent Valley reservoir. In more recent years, the building has been used by Mourne Heritage Trust as offices, storage and welfare space.
The distinctive property is one of several water-related buildings located within the grounds of Silent Valley. Speaking about the planned restoration work, NI Water Senior Project Manager, Michael Donnelly said: “The work at the Water Superintendent’s House is being undertaken as part of our Historic Estate Project – a rolling programme of work to survey, protect and care for listed assets within NI Water’s ownership.
“Working closely with DfC’s Historic Environment Division, NI Water and our project team from RPS and GEDA Construction have developed a considerate programme of restoration works to breathe new life into the Superintendent’s House and in doing so, prolong its use for many more years to come.”
Welcoming the refurbishment project, Mourne Heritage Trust Chief Executive, Martin Carey said: “Mourne Heritage Trust is delighted at the plans for the restoration of the Superintendent’s House. We have been grateful to NI Water for use of the building for over two decades and the restoration will allow us to derive even greater benefit from this valued asset as we continue in our efforts in Caring for Mourne”.
Commenting on how the refurbishment will benefit the Trust, Martin said: “Our growing band of conservation volunteers who, among other things, help look after the tree nursery that has been developed in the former kitchen garden of the house, will have comfortable facilities for changing, eating and resting. With improved IT connectivity, office and storage space, the refurbished house will better accommodate our field staff for their important desk work, and we will also be able to make more regular use of quite a large and characterful meeting room. We also hope to use one of the refurbished rooms as a library/archive facility to keep safe and accessible reference materials and other documents relating to the work of Mourne Heritage Trust and predecessor bodies.
“It is fitting that a building, that is itself part of the historic character of the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, will be such a valuable hub of our activity to care for this special place,” he concluded.
The Water Superintendent’s House is one of 40 listed assets in NI Water’s care. Speaking about NI Water’s commitment to looking after these assets and the ‘Protocol for the Care of the Government Historic Estates’, Mr Donnelly added: “Over the last seven years, as part of the protocol, NI Water has been striving to restore and protect century-old heritage to ensure that the listed assets within its care can operate as required and be appreciated for many years to come.
“Most of the 40 listed assets that we survey and care for are located in the Mournes area and include the 100-year-old Mourne Wall. Last year NI Water completed phase two of the Mourne Wall Restoration Project, which brought the total number of repairs carried out on the 22-mile-long structure to over 900 since work began in 2017.
“Other assets to benefit recently from restoration works under the Historic Estates Project, are the Silent Valley red gates and the Dunnywater Aqueduct – a 78m-long steel water pipe dating back to 1952, which carries water across the Annalong River on five semi-circular concrete arches.
“The refurbishment of these assets requires a range of specialist skills and we are delighted to be able to employ contractors from the Mournes area to carry out work on both the Historic Estates and Mourne Wall Restoration Projects.
“NI Water and our project team from RPS and GEDA appreciate the support of local landowners and the public as we work to restore these important listed assets and take this opportunity to thank Mourne Heritage Trust, Dickson FitzGerald Architects, NIEA and DfC’s Historic Environment Division for their guidance throughout both these projects to date.”
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For further information, please email press.office@niwater.com