St Leonard's

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Left one of a pair of mirror image mid-late 19th C semi-detached villas, sea facing in mature grounds on N side of Rostrevor Road.

Each villa is two storeys high and two bays wide, and although the principal facade faces S, their entrances are to the side elevations.

Pitched L-plan natural slate roof with moulded advanced eaves and bracketed ogee cast-iron gutters. The gutters to right bay of façade have cast iron crestings. Chimneys are stucco, with chamfered base, moulded cap and yellow octagonal terracotta pots. Front (S) pitch has raised modern roof vents and a modern skylight to its right bay and is gabled to left bay with plain timber bargeboard and diminutive timber finial. Four-pot rendered chimney between the two houses and a two-pot chimney between the two bays.

Walls are smooth rendered and painted with moulded basecourse and moulded platband between the floors. There are also two thinner and plainer platbands to each floor (at quarter and three quarter height up each window). All windows have run-moulded stucco architraves with plain decorative key-blocks. Those to ground floor are 1/1 sashes unless otherwise stated. Those to first floor are 2/2 (vertically divided) sashes with segmental heads.

The S elevation is two bays wide. The left bay advances slightly and has a single storey canted bay window with moulded and fretted parapet over a blocking course concealing its flat roof. It has a window to front and narrower ones to each cheek. There is a single window to first floor with a stucco roundel in the gable above with key blocks at cardinal points. The right bay has a rectangular single-storey bay with two front windows and narrow blank cheeks. It has a swept leaded roof with decorative crestings to the gutters. There is a single window at first floor.

The left (W) elevation is three bays wide and contains the main entrance. It has a two-pot chimney on the left (N) gable. A single storey gabled porch abuts its central bay. It is detailed as the main house and has a pitched natural slate roof with decorative fretted timber bargeboard on paired timber brackets. The front wall has a single granite step up to a door with two vertical panels and a beaded muntin. Each panel is round headed and there is a cat-flap at left side. Over is a plain semicircular headed fanlight. Moulded architrave with fluted arris. The right cheek of the porch has a 2/2 sash window and the left cheek is blank.

Each remaining bay on this elevation has a single window opening to each floor and an identical window above porch. All contain 2/2 sashes except for the ground floor right, which has a partly glazed modern timber door. It has a plain sidelight to right and a transom over (all within the opening).

The N gable of the house is abutted to right by a lower two storey return which is set back slightly from the W elevation of the main block. Remainder of the N elevation was not inspected and fronts an internal yard.

The return has a pitched natural slate roof aligned N-S and with walls and eaves as main block but there is no stringcourse between the floors and only a single platband to each floor. There are four openings to each floor. Two modern doors at ground floor right have thin rendered architraves. The two remaining ground floor windows are wide 6/6 uPVC casements. The three left windows at first floor are 6/6 sashes and the right one is a fixed 3x4 timber window inset into a sash box. Several electricity meter boxes abut this elevation.

A modern two-storey apartment block on the site of the former stable block abuts the N gable of the return. It is aligned W-E and is detailed as the main block but has no features of interest. Its S elevation fronts the internal yard (not inspected) and its E gable abuts the stable block of Sennan House (HB16/12/007B).

Setting

The orchard to rear (N) of both houses has been cleared and densely developed in red brick modern housing which is accessed up the front driveway of the main house. The front garden terraces in three stages. The top one is a short lawn, the second is a parking area and the third is an enclosure in which fuel tanks are buried. At the end of the garden, by the road, a modern house has been built to mimic a gate lodge.

Historical information

Not shown on the 1859 OS 6” map. First cited (along with its contiguous neighbour HB 16/12/007B) in the Second Valuation book of 1861(but unoccupied), indicating an 1860 erection date. The landowner was Leonard Watson; the coincidence of his Christian name with that of development is uncertain.

Primary sources
1. OS 6” map, 1859, Co Down sheet 54 (PRONI – OS 6/3/54/3).
2. Second Valuation book, 1861 (PRONI – VAL 2B/3/65A).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This house has been sub-divided into flats. It has a of number external electricity meter boxes. Its setting is compromised by residential development to rear and the modern lodge to the road. Most of the front lawn has been given over to car parking.