GEORGIAN 1714 - 1837

Materials

The exterior finish was either brick, stone or plaster depending on the locally available material. In Ulster, during this period, brickworks were opened in Ballycastle, Ballymena, Belfast, Coalisland, Limavady and Lurgan and stone was quarried locally. In the Mournes there was granite, in County Antrim basalt and in Dungannon and Newtownards sandstone as well as small local quarries of limestone. The lime kilns which can still be seen in the countryside are evidence of the burning of limestone to make lime mortar for buildings as well as for farming needs.

The village of Gracehill in County Antrim is a Moravian settlement founded in 1765. The village plan is a grid-iron pattern consisting of two long parallel streets joined at right angles by two shorter ones with a square in between. The buildings in Gracehill are mainly two storied, slated, rectangular in shape and built of random and coursed basalt with pebble infill in the pointing.
The social life of the village was highly structured; residents worked in trades to benefit the life of the community and in return were provided with accommodation. The Moravian Church which faces the square is at the core of the village.
Gracehill was designated a conservation area in 1975.
Link - www.gracehillvillage.org