9-15 Belfast Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Group of four small two storey houses of c.1880, set in the middle of the terrace on the E side of the Belfast Road, NE of Ballynahinch town centre. No.9 is slightly taller than the rest of the group.

The front (W) façade of each house has a window to the left on the ground floor, with the entrance door to the right and two windows to the first floor. Nos. 9, 13 and 15 have all had their ground floor windows enlarged, with modern doors (small timber porch to No.13) and all have modern window frames to the first floor windows except No.9 which has sash frames with horizontal glazing bars (2 over 2). The front facades are all fieldstone rubble constructed, with original brick dressings to the upper floor windows. Nos. 9, 11 and 15 have brick decoration near the eaves. Nos.11 and 13 have light mortar.
Nos.13 and 15 now have large modern two storey extensions to the rear. No.11 has a modern single storey extension, with two windows to the first floor of the rear façade of the main (original) building. The window to the left is extremely small and both windows have PVC frames. No.9 has a small lean-to to the left on the ground floor, with a modern window and door. To the right of this (on the main rear façade) is a plain sash window. To the first floor is a similar sash window with a smaller square window to the left with modern frame. The rear façade of No.9 is rendered and painted. The exposed section of the rear façade of No.11 is finished in unpainted render.

The gable roofs of each property are covered in natural slate, apart from No.1 which appears to be covered in non asbestos slates. Each house has a single brick chimney stack. No.9 and No.11 each have a Velux window to the rear. Each house appears to have a mixture of PVC and cast iron rw goods.

Small gardens to front of each property with low rendered walls to footpath.

Historical information

This stretch of the Belfast Road was developed in the late 19th century, with no buildings present prior to 1863 at least. This particular stretch of terrace probably dates from c.1880, though the slight difference in height between No.9 and the rest of the group could suggest that all were not built at exactly the same time.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI D.1255 Title deeds, legal and testamentary papers, correspondence and Irish Land Commissioners Papers re the Ballynahinch Estate, 1630-1940.
2 PRONI and Linen Hall Library ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory’ Vols.1-21, 1852-1900, (Belfast, Henderson [1852-65], Belfast News-Letter [1865- ]).
3 PRONI OS/9/41/1 OS Town plan of Ballynahinch, 1860
4 PRONI and Linen Hall Library Second (Griffith’s) valuation, Magherdrool, c.1863 [in print].
5 PRONI VAL/12E/83/1 Valuation town plans, Ballynahinch, 1864-1905.
6 George Henry Bassett ‘County Down Guide and Directory’ (Dublin 1886), pp.369-379.
7 PRONI VAL/12E/83/2 Valuation town plans, Ballynahinch, 1905-35.
8 PRONI OS/8/3/2 OS town plan of Ballynahinch, 1920.
9 PRONI VAL/3G/59/1 Valuation town plans, Ballynahinch, 1937-53.

Secondary sources
1 S. McCullough ‘Ballynahinch: centre of Down’ (Ballynahinch Chamber of Commerce 1968).
2 C.E.B. Brett ‘Historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in the towns and villages of Mid Down’ (Belfast UAHS 1974), p.38. [This book suggests that some of the houses on the Belfast Road date from c.1840, but the OS map of 1859 shows the road devoid of any buildings.]

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Group of four, small two storey, rubble-built terrace houses of c.1880, much altered in recent years with enlarged window openings to front and large modern extensions to the rear.