Hillside Terrace

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A terrace of five red brick houses with polychromatic decoration on the north side of Doran's Hill. Nos. 1-4 are aligned with the road, each stepping down the hill (no. 1 at top end); No. 5 is at right angles at the bottom end.

Nos. 1-4
All houses are gabled, with natural slate roofs (except no.1 which has been re-roofed with artificial slate), metal rainwater goods and a brick chimney at right. The latter have raised bases, dentilled caps and a course of yellow brick around middle. The eaves are supported on corbelled brackets of yellow and black brick.

The road elevation is of red brick embellished with coloured brick - a yellow brick string course level with middle of ground floor windows, and another across first floor windows at same level; black-yellow/red-black bands between ground and first floors, and between first and second floors. There is a moulded terracotta platband at first floor level; this also forms the cills to this floor's windows. Above and between the top floor windows is a small yellow/black brick embellishment. The room bays break forward on all three floors, with gables with ornate fretted bargeboards at eaves level and finials (the bargeboards to no. 1 are inappropriate modern replacements; the finials are now missing to nos. 1 and 2). Just below the first floor of no. 4, at extreme right, is a metal plate reading 'Hillside Terrace'.

Each house has a door at ground floor left. Only the door to no. 3 appears to be original - four panels (glazed top pair) with rectangular transom light over. The others are modern replacements. The door openings have stop-ended chamfers around their edges. To right are pairs of 1/1 sliding sash windows, each with granite cills. These openings have flat heads and stop-ended chamfers. There is an identical set of windows in line at first floor, and a pair of semi-circular headed 1/1 sliding sash windows directly above at second floor. The latter share a moulded terracotta cill which extends as a platband across the face of the window bay. Only the windows to nos. 2 and 3 are in the original style, the others being modern plastic replacements of different design. No. 1 has also undergone substantial structural modifications: a bay window and porch have been added at ground floor, and a monopitched artificial slate roof carried over both bay and porch.

The left gable is pebble dashed and painted and without openings. The right gable is abutted by No. 5 (q.v.).

At rear, the walls are cement rendered and have plain eaves. Each house has a skylight in its roof pitch. An original two-storey monopitched return abuts each house at right, with a yard enclosed by a wall at left. These returns have cement rendered walls and gable window. Above, on the wall of the main block, is a 2/2 sliding sash window on the half landing between first and second floor. Each ground and first floor room also has an identical window.

Some modifications are evident. No.1 has been pebble dashed and its original windows replaced in plastic. A flat roofed annex has been added to no. 3 which obscures both its ground and first floor windows.

There is a small walled garden to front of each house. The walls of nos. 2-4 are original, of rendered brick with square piers and pyramidal caps. No.1 has a modern pebbledash wall.

No. 5

This three-bay/ two-storey house is set at right angles to the terrace and abutting the end gable of no. 4 at a lower level; there is a two-bay/ two-storey annex to its right gable. The main portion has a hipped natural slate roof with chimney identical to terrace in middle of block, metal rainwater goods, and eaves supported on moulded yellow brick brackets. The walls are of brick. The terracotta platband and two bands of yellow brick across the terrace facade continue around the street gable and facade of no. 5, as does the band of black/yellow/red brick just below first floor level. There is also a band of yellow brick just below first floor window head level.

The gable facing to street has pairs of 1/1 sliding sash windows at ground and first floors. These are contained in a projecting bay, and have dormers with fretted barge boards and finials similar to themain terrace. Both sets of window openings have stop ended chamfers; the bottom pair share a common granite cill.

The three bays of the main elevation also break forward; the first and third bays (as viewed from left) are identical to the street gable. The middle bay has a projecting single-storey entrance porch. This porch has a flat roof with parapet coped with black brick, and with yellow and black brick string courses under. It contains a 10-panel modern door with rectangular transom light over. There is a 1/1 margined sliding sash window to its left cheek. The margined 1/1 sliding sash window at first floor over the porch has a semicircular head.

At right on the main elevation, is a smaller hip-roofed two-bay annex which is set back to form a separate unit. At ground floor left is a modern 10-panel door with rectangular transom light over. To its right is a 1/1 top-hung plastic window. Right again is a door into a utility room. At first floor are two 1/1 sliding sash windows in line with the doors below (but without stop ended chamfering); each has a head of alternating yellow and red brick.

The right gable of bay five is abutted by a later monopitched cement-rendered garage. The wall above is cement rendered, with a bracketed eaves course; it contains a 1/1 sliding sash window.

The rear wall is cement rendered (not inspected in detail).

Historical information

Nos. 1-4 first appear in the Valuation Revision book entry dated 1902, each being leased by Alex Johnston and valued at £15. No. 5 first appears in 1907 and is occupied by Alex Johnston (value £16.10s.0d). This suggests the developer erected the terrace, then a house for himself. Mr Johnston is given as a carpenter in the 1908 Provincial Directory. He may be related to Samuel Johnston, builder and contractor of Queen St (1902 Directory).

Primary Source:
1. PRONI - VAL 12B/22/18B, p.243;
2. PRONI - VAL 12E/125/1/18.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A pleasant composition of turn of the century polychromatic brick houses stepping down a steep hill. Marred by inappropriate alterations.