12 Magheralave Park South

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An asymmetrical two-storey multi-bay irregular plan form dwelling erected c.1940. Located at the junction between Magheralave Park South and Magheralave Park North, off Magheralave Road, north of Lisburn city centre.

Hipped natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles; overhanging eaves with timber fascia boards and soffits (partially roughcast rendered). Cast-iron rainwater goods; semi-circular gutters with circular downpipes. Tall rendered plain chimneys with tall terracotta pots. Roughcast rendered walling. uPVC replacement double glazed windows; rectangular masonry cills. Elliptical-arched timber sheeted front door with wrought-iron decorative strap hinges and ironmongery.

The front elevation faces north and is asymmetrically arranged. The front entrance is located centrally to the curved north-east corner with a single first floor window directly over; diminutive ground floor window to the left. The left hand side comprises a projected bay with symmetrically arranged corner windows to the ground and first floor.

The east elevation is asymmetrically arranged. The left side comprises a two-storey projected bay; ground floor door to the east face; single first floor window to the north face and single first floor window to the south face over a recessed ground floor with single window. The right side has two first floor windows and the ground floor is abutted by a single-storey hipped roof garage located at the re-entrant to the projecting bay on the left. The garage has a modern vehicular door to the north face and a single window on the east.

The rear elevation of the main block is symmetrically arranged. Two segmental arched door openings centrally located on the ground floor flanked by two corner windows; uniformly arranged first floor windows directly over ground floor openings. The ground floor is partially abutted by an asymmetrical hipped roofed canopy; partially glazed; largely supported by columns.

The west elevation is asymmetrically arranged; comprising a 1 ½ storey half-hipped abutment with cat-slide roof to the south face. The north face has a single large window opening to the ground floor; the south face is blank; the west face comprises two first floor windows and a ground floor window, abutted on the right by a single storey hipped-roof extension. The extension has a flat tile roof with a door and window to the north face; single window to the south face; blank west face.

Setting:

The dwelling is set within its own secluded grounds; largely screened from public view by trees. The site is bounded to the north and west by a timber and masonry wall; the east is bounded by hedgerows. Large gardens to the south with a well maintained lawn and mature trees. North of the house is a single-storey flat-roofed garage with flanking stepped retaining walls; forming part of a small landscaped portion of the entrance yard. The immediate surrounding area is principally suburban
setting comprising a variety of two-storey dwellings.

Roofing: Natural slate
Walling: Rough-cast
Windows: uPVC replacement
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The house is not shown on any historic map editions up to 1939. It is thought to have been built for a member of the Barbour family, former owners of the Barbour linen thread empire which had branches worldwide and was at one time the world’s largest linen thread producer. (Rankin, p.42-3)

References:

Primary Sources

PRONI OS/6/1/68/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1939

Secondary Sources

Rankin, K “The Linen Houses of the Lagan Valley, The story of their families” Belfast, Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

An asymmetrical two-storey multi-bay irregular plan form dwelling erected c.1940. The style and proportions of the dwelling display the typical architectural characteristics of its period. These general features have largely been unaltered, however inappropriate replacement of the windows has detracted from the buildings overall historic character. Possibly built for the Barbour family, former owners of the Barbour linen thread empire, although no definitive evidence supports this. Whilst an interesting early 20th century suburban house, as it has lost its original doors and windows it is not considered to be of sufficient quality for listing.

General comments

This record was completed without access to the primary source material held by PRONI