A house once gifted to the people of Belfast...
As you may recall, I've written about Wilmont house in the past. I feel I've a connection to the house and Lady Dixon, after all it was Cairndhu House in Larne that she also bequeathed to the people of Larne that started my photographic journey. As a result, I owe it to her to speak out and save Wilmont House.
This morning I participated in a radio interview with BBC Radio Ulster, which will air tomorrow morning (Tuesday 14th Feb) at 8am. Listen in and hear me and Sandra Marks, who has started a petition to save the house. Despite Sandra's relentless efforts, she has not been able to get the council to take any action on how to save the house. (Petition link at bottom of page).
Lady Dixon gifted the house and 140 acres of land to the people of Belfast in the 1950's. After her death the house was then used as a care home for the elderly from the 1960's until 1992. Once it closed as a home it was used briefly as a wedding venue, park events and council office space. It's now been unused for almost a decade.
In this drone footage I took of the house, it's obvious that there are a lot of basic repairs that need to be done in order to make it watertight and prevent internal damage, which will further degrade the property. I can't help but wonder what would Lady Dixon think if she could see both her beautiful properties that she gifted to the people. I'm sure she would be horrified and I feel it's an insult to her memory and her generosity.
Are you willing to sign the petition to show Belfast Council that we want Wilmont house saved and restored to the magnificent house it once was, so that we and future generations can enjoy it, just as Lady Dixon intended?
