St Brelade's

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A modern style mid-20thC two-storey/ three-bay dwelling at junction of Well Road and coast road.

Three-tier flat concrete roof, the two front tiers running the width of the house, with advanced eaves all around each tier. Roof of front tier (to sea) is slightly higher than that of the second tier, which is in turn slightly higher than the NW (third) tier. A water tank sits between the second and third tiers. Down pipes to side walls. Painted and wet-dashed cement walls over an exposed brick basecourse. All openings have thin cement architraves and smooth rendered reveals. All windows are uPVC and have painted concrete cills unless otherwise stated.

Principal elevation faces S to sea. Right end projects as a semicircular two-storey bay window (under the main eaves). Main entrance is to centre of the front elevation, just left of this bay window. A pair of painted timber doors with three vertical panels of fluted glass to each leaf. Flanked by 1x5-paned sidelights with masonry architraves separating them from the door. Left bay has a large rectangular picture window with 1x4-paned casement to each side. Both door and window are under an open flat concrete canopy, which abuts the right-hand bay and is supported at its SW corner by a slender metal column. At F/F, above the door, is a triangular oriel with a transomed 1x4-paned casement to each cheek. Left bay has a window as that to G/F (but slightly wider and in line with it). Each storey of the right-hand bay has a wrap around 1x5-pane timber window (vertically divided).

The left elevation has a pair of 1x6-paned uPVC French windows to G/F right. At left, on the (lowest) rear block is a fixed single-paned window with 1x3-paned flanking casements. Above, to F/F, are two 1x3-paned windows sharing a common cill. Down pipe to right of these windows and ventilation pipe at left.

Abutting G/F left of this elevation is a curved screen wall (detailed as house walls) with a painted sheeted timber door through to the back entrance and rear yard.

The left section of this screen abuts a garage with shallow monopitched corrugated-asbestos roof; walls as main house. Metal roller door to front and sheeted timber door and 3x3-paned metal casement window to right (N) cheek. The garage continues to W as a yard outbuilding, which returns N around the back of the yard.

The rear elevation is abutted to right by a two-stage return under the third tier of the roof. The exposed wall of the main block has, at G/F right, a small glass-brick window at its junction with the return. Above, at F/F, is a 3x1-paned timber window (with decorative metal grille to inside). To its right is a tiny slit glass-brick window.

The roofline of the return wraps around the W side of the rear block (which does not extend to the left cheek of the front block). Its N face (to yard) has a transomed glass-brick window to G/F right and a 1/1 top-hung slit window to its left. The F/F is blank. The left cheek extends as one storey extension, with blank N wall and 3x1-paned casement window to left cheek. The return's right cheek contains back entrance porch.

The right elevation of the main block has a 1x6-paned uPVC door to G/F centre (at the right end of the front block, leading into the drawing room). Above is a triangular oriel as that at front elevation. On each floor to its right, on the lower rear block, is a fixed single-pane window flanked by 1x4-paned casements.

A tarmaced path runs around the front and sides of the house. Rear yard enclosed by garage and outbuildings (of no interest). A distinctive painted dashed wall encloses Garden to S and E. It has a linear open concrete-block coping, which gives it a distinct 'streamlined' effect. It steps up at the W end of the S wall adjacent to the entrance gateway. It curves on the SE corner and at the N end of the E wall it steps up and curves inward, with a wrought iron pedestrian gate.

Historical information

Built 1950s to a design by J. Kenny, a Newry-based architect. He was also responsible for St John of God Hospital (Newry) and some of the buildings within the Alexian Brothers seminary (HB16/12/008), Warrenpoint. Its name comes from St Brelade's Port, Channel Islands, where the first owners (who commissioned it) spent their honeymoon.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A post WW2 modernist house streamlined with flat concrete roofs and bowed bay to façade. An unusual design for the area prominently located with good boundary walling. Its concrete roofs are of some structural interest. Original windows have been replaced by uPVC ones.