Inisreen,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey Edwardian house of asymmetrical plan, built of concrete blocks in imitation of stonework.

Main entrance faces west. Entrance front three bay, two-storey, with attic. Hipped roof of Westmoreland green slates in regular courses; red terracotta ridge tiles. Chimneys beyond ridge, of concrete blocks with moulded cornice, clustered on a cross-plan; red pots, original.

Walls of precast concrete blocks, or artificial stone, in style of ashlar stonework, with rock-faced quoins to extremities, and rock-faced basal courses; pre-cast concrete cills in same artificial stonework. Cast iron guttering of moulded profile, original. Central bay projects slightly; contains porch flanked by two narrow fixed lights with wavy heads and decorative leaded glass, to ground floor; two windows to first floor surmounted by rectangular drip moulding, timber sliding sash, vertically hung, 1 over 1, with horns; one small sashed window to apex of gable, as previous, with similar drip moulding. Corbelled kneelers to attic gable. Entrance in central projecting porch. Porch gable on corbelled kneelers; roof as main house. Plain boarded door of oak in wavy headed opening with similar profile to projecting coved drip moulding and door surround. Buttresses to each side of porch doorway. Four semi-circular granite steps to front door. Each side wall of porch contains a narrow fixed light with wavy head, containing decorative leaded glass. Bay to left rectangular, also projecting, with one window to each floor, sashed as previous. Bay to right curved with three windows each floor, sashed as previous.

North elevation has two-storey curved bay, three windows each floor, as previous, with flat-roofed dormer above. Dormer widows two-light, fixed light and side-hung casement. To left of end wall, return of same ridge height as front block but eaves swept down to lower level. New PVC downpipes supplement original cast iron.

Rear elevation of front block, facing east, almost all original work of 1906; timber ledged door and two sashed windows as previous, to right; small single-storey lean-to back porch.

Rear elevation, facing east: to right, timber ledged door between two sashed windows as previous; followed by small single-storey lean-to back porch, slightly later addition to original 1906 house, similar artificial stone but joints open in places and cracking to head over window and door; door timber ledged with small rectangular fanlight. One window above back porch, sashed as previous, original. Two-storey end wall of main rear return: two windows, as previous, to ground floor; dormer in attic as previous.

South elevation similar character to entrance front: two sets of paired windows to each floor of return, with a single window in each floor of end gable of front block. Two attic dormers as previous, one in front block, one in return. At easternmost extremity of return, a large square section cast iron downpipe with foliated mounts and a wavy section to hopper head, original Arts and Crafts style feature. Two new narrow gauge PVC downpipes, not too obtrusive.

Stableblock: To east of house, a long outbuilding, originally stableblock, connected to it on south side by a coach archway on piers dated on the apex 1906 in lead numbers, and on the north side by a yard wall containing a smaller pedestrian doorway with sliding door now missing. Coach archway rebated but sliding door not functioning. Outbuilding, yard wall and archways of similar material to house.

Wall of outbuilding facing yard: one window, sashed as previous, plus two ledged timber single doors, ledged double doors, and large sliding doors (Coburn System), all original. Wall ladder at south end inside leads to loft above, lit by single sash window in apex of gable.

Entrance gate, piers and screen: Entrance gates of white-painted wrought iron, rectilinear in pattern with scrolling finials, set between square piers of artificial stonework with domical caps; curved screen walls terminating in outer piers.

Setting: The house stands in a spacious well-kept garden in a very rural location, on an elevated site well planted with trees, overlooking the main road and easily visible from it, with distant views to the sea. Boundary wall to south and west plain, rendered and blocked, with concrete copings. To south boundary, a small pedestrian gate of similar style to main gates. To side garden, two concrete block square piers with domical caps but no evidence of existence of gate.

Historical information

Built in 1905 for Mr E.C. Smith to the designs of Thomas J. Houston.

References - Primary

1. Belfast News-Letter, 1 January 1906, p 9.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
G. Innovatory Qualities
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A good example of domestic work of the Edwardian era, designed by an important specialist in the field, displaying an interesting array of details including original interior features.