Manor Lodge Care Home

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey Victorian house built c.1870, located off Blacks Road, north of Dunmurry and west of the M1 Motorway, midway along the Manor housing development, on the right hand side. Three-bay, square plan form with a two-storey wing to the rear

Hipped natural slate roof with lead hip and ridge. Two profiled stone chimneystacks on brick bases with tall clay pots over; located along the ridge over the principal elevation. Overhanging eaves with timber sheeted soffits with closely paired timber eaves brackets. One other matching chimneystack located over the rear wing. Extruded metal ogee gutter with circular downpipes; some original SVP to the rear. The walling is red brick Flemish bond with tooled ashlar sandstone surrounds to openings, plinth, quoins and a moulded eaves string course. Victorian unequal 1/1 timber sliding sash windows with horns, arranged as singles, pairs and triples with sandstone mullions, cills and heads. The front door is a large six-panelled timber door with brass ironmongery.

The principal elevation is south facing and is symmetrically arranged. The front door is centrally located and flanked by Tuscan pilasters rising to an entablature. Either side of the front entrance are matching single storey shallow box bays with three lights, with chamfered sandstone cills and mullions with entablature detailing over. At first floor the sandstone window surrounds project from the face of the brick with a projected eaves directly over.

The east-facing elevation is asymmetrically arranged with a large bowed single-storey sandstone bay located on the right and a large modern single storey conservatory to the left; remains of the sandstone bay exists where the modern extension abuts the facade. At first floor there are three openings; a single light with long-and-short surrounds centrally located, flanked by paired windows with matching details as the principal elevation.

The north-facing rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged with a large half arched sliding sash stair light with yellow brick surrounds and margin panes, located left of centre. To the right hand side an L-Shaped single-storey modern kitchen has been built fairly sympathetically. Various other smaller windows exist to the rear elevation with matching brick surrounds with sandstone cills and heads.

The west facing elevation is five-bay deep incorporating the rear wing which projects approximately 1m beyond the line of the principal building. To the left there is a single-storey canted bay with paired window over with projecting surrounds. The remaining windows are various sized, single and paired windows uniformly arranged with long-and-short stone surrounds.

The
setting of the building is largely suburban development encompassing the whole site. A large two-storey oblong extension, connected by a two storey glazed link, sits to the northeast of the house with two historic outbuildings located to the northwest. The outbuildings are 1 ½-storey masonry rubble structures with pitched slate roofs over. The original gated entrance is also located to the north although much of the wall has been removed. The new entrance is located to the southeast and along a short driveway with landscaping either side, leads to a tarmac car park located adjacent to the front entrance.

Roofing Natural slate,
Walling Brick with sandstone
Windows Timber 1/1 sliding sash
RWG Extruded metal

Historical information

The original Farmhill House appears on the 1833 OS map as a small T-shaped building with two large oblong outbuildings. The Townland Valuations 1828-40 recorded the occupier as James Coleman and the house was valued at £16.9. The dwelling was described as a house with a return and the land was noted as being “Arable fine strong land”.

The 1859 OS maps show considerable change to the plan form of the dwelling and also caption the building as ‘Farmhill’. The house had adopted a square plan form and the two existing oblong outbuildings remain. Griffiths Valuation in 1861 indicates several additional returns and outbuildings which would count for the change in plan, Valued at £25 the buildings are described as “Thatched and low houses all in bad condition”. The tenant during this time was Sarah McKibben and the landlord was John WS McCance.

John WS McCance, born 1772, was the son of John McCance (1744-1811). The McCance family name was associated with the linen industry in the area for almost 200 years with bleach greens in Suffolk and Glenville. John WS McCance also spent time serving as an MP for Belfast.

The McCance family sold the land to William Coates JP of Glentoran in 1869 for £2000, who subsequently was responsible for building the new house on the site three years later, for his daughter Eleanor and her husband Edward Richardson.

The Annual Revisions record the changes to occur around 1871, with a valuers note “see in 71 about to build here”. The subsequent change to the dwelling resulted in a large increase of the value from £3 in 1870 to £85 in 1876. The total value including the land was £142.

The building of the new dwelling has been attributed to William Shirrie (Sherry),who is recorded to have built ‘Farmhill Villa’ in Dunmurry, for William Coates in 1872. (DIA)

Eleanor Richardson continued to live in the house after her husband, Edward’s death in 1901.

In c.1990 the house was adapted as a nursing home with large a large adjoining accommodation block added to the rear. In 2000 the home was taken over by its present owner.

Reference – Primary Source

1. PRONI VAL/1/B/128 A&B - Townland Valuations 1828-1840
2. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/21D - Griffiths Valuation 1856-1864
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/8/15A-F - Annual Revisions 1862-33
4. PRONI OS/6/1/64/1 – OS Map 1833
5. PRONI OS/6/1/64/2b – OS Map 1859
6. PRONI OS/6/1/64/3 – OS Map 1904
7. PRONI OS/6/1/64/4 – OS Map 1925
8. PRONI OS/6/1/64/6 – OS Map 1938

Reference - Secondary Source

9. Rankin, K “The Linen Houses of the Lagan Valley, The story of their families” Belfast, Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002
10. Directory of Irish Architects – www.dia.ie

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A two-storey Victorian house built c.1870 well preserved and retaining much of its original character and displaying a high quality of craftsmanship throughout. Sited on the location of a previous farm building, the house, built by William Coates JP of Glentoran, once enjoyed open surroundings, but now has unfortunately been encompassed by a suburban development, although fairly well screened by trees and vegetation. The extensions to the building have been carried out sympathetically, and remain subservient to the principal building and do not detract from its essential character. The internal detailing is of high quality and the internal plan has remained relatively unchanged. The overall quality of this house is exemplified in its style and proportion and is a fine example of large late Victorian house.