His father was John Jenkinson Lanyon, a purser in the Royal Navy, and his mother was Catherine Anne Mortimer.

When Owen was made senior Engineer and Architect of the Irish Board of Works and moved to Dublin, Lanyon followed.

They had ten children, including Sir William Owen Lanyon, an army officer and colonial administrator.

He remained county surveyor of Antrim until 1860 Before the American Civil War when he resigned from the post to concentrate on private work and other interests.

The Irish Commissioners of Public Works promoted the construction of the Antrim Coast Road between 1832 and 1842 by civil engineer William Bald.

Lanyon planted 1500 large Scots pine[2][3] trees in two lines so that the roots would intermingle, and would create a surface for a road to be built.

The front is symmetrical on either sides with black bricks on the edge it is made of normal sandstone, painted white.

The charitable endowment of Henry Gill who, dying in 1761, bequeathed "to fourteen aged men, decayed in their circumstances, £10 each per annum and also houses and gardens", in Ellis Street (see No.

The pretty Tudor revival style is reminiscent of contemporary churches and schools designed by the same architect, then County Surveyor of Antrim.

The middle and wing bays of the symmetrical five-bay front project slightly and have tall double-shouldered gables with curious finials like inverted gate posts.

Beneath the datestone the central front doorway has a four-centred arch, recessed surround, and a hood moulding with big cabbage-like bosses all dulled by dark paint.

Each wing bay has a triple window, the centre light taller than its neighbours, embraced by a label moulding which echoes the stepping of the gables.

Nowadays it appears that the almshouses rival the inmates in their decayed circumstances, for, while the black and white paint-work is tidy, the facade shows an alarming inclination to land at the feet of those who stand in front to admire it.

Most notable for his advances in Physics, he was also a deep thinker and Philosopher, resulting in the statue portrayed seated.

It takes its name from an old abbey whose picturesque ruins consist of a chapel, the remains of which denote the early English style of architecture, but at what time or name or by whom founded it is not known.Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, vol.II, London: S Lewis & Co., 1837, p712 This house was designed and built in 1850 for Richard Davison an MP, on the site of[clarification needed] another MP, Samuel Getty, who had a gentleman's cottage on the site.

Abbey was erected in 1835.Ordnance Survey, Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Antrim, 1, 1838–9 In 1897, the house was purchased by Granville Hotel Company for use as a tuberculosis hydrotherapy centre, employing Sebastian Kneipp's naturopathy technique.

The residence of Sir Charles Lanyon at Whiteabbey near Belfast has been purchased by a syndicate for conversion into a hydropatholic establishment.

[8] People commented that Lanyon's experience with churches and lecture halls had influenced his design for the courthouse.

The building was poorly secured and was used by local youths as a drinking den, but also was an attraction for Northern Ireland urban explorers.

Finally, on 15 August 2009, a major fire broke out destroying much of the remainder, and resulting in the building becoming hazardous.

At this time the growing population of Presbyterians led to linen merchant John Henning presenting a request that the 80 families in the area be approved as a separate congregation.

Built in the Italian Renaissance style, the building features carved statues of Britannia, Neptune and Mercury.

It was here that trade union leader James Larkin addressed crowds of up to 20,000 people during the 1907 Belfast Dock strike.

Located on Corporation Square in Belfast's docks area, locally known as Sailortown, the church has a distinctive maritime theme.

Lanyon planted approximately 1,500 Scots Pine trees along the edge of what is now the A26 road, just north of the town of Ballymena.

The overhanging trees are a well-known landmark for travellers en route to the north Antrim coast.

Lanyon designed an extension to the east side of The Royal St. George Yacht Club in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) in 1865 which was accepted in principle.

Lanyon redesigned Killyleagh Castle and designed Drenagh Estate, bridges, viaducts and mausoleums and over 50 churches in Belfast and throughout Ireland.

Alongside William J. Barre, Lanyon is considered Belfast's most important architect of the Victorian era.

[13] During this period Belfast was expanding greatly, becoming Ireland's most important industrial city, briefly becoming larger in population than Dublin.