31 Greenmount Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A 1½ and 2-storey house of asymmetrical plan in basalt rubble with sandstone dressings and steep pitched roofs. Main entrance is in the north elevation, although the doorway faces west.

North elevation: roof of Westmorland green slates in diminishing courses; flat soffits to overhanging eaves with timber eaves board; cast iron gutter and downpipe. Walls of basalt rubble with tooled edges to corners at extremities and to corners of reveals to openings; raised sandstone stringcourse at first floor cill level to main 2-storey block. Central chimney of roughly coursed basalt rubble, with tooled edges to corners and plain block cornice.
Two windows to first floor of 2-storey block coupled rectangular timber 6-pane side-hung casements, with soffit of eaves to head; two windows to ground floor, similar casements to first floor, with timber drip board, recessed cills and segmental headed flat arch to head. All windows in the house are modern replacements.

Extending to the left-hand side and set well back from the main wall is a lower 1½ storey block with most of ground floor behind a curved screen wall to a small yard. Screen wall of similar basalt to main house with sandstone block coping in line with stringcourse to east elevation. West side of yard wall contains a semi-elliptical archway with a rectangular ledged timber gate. Yard surface concrete; yard inner walls basalt rubble. North elevation of house within yard: basalt rubble with a sandstone stringcourse; four square ventilation openings at top of north wall, presumably to an original drying room in loft above. Two recessed doorways, rectangular ledged timber door to left in flat basalt arch; rectangular timber glazed and panelled door to right, set in a tongued and grooved sheeted screen, in a segmental headed basalt flat arch. Cast iron gutter and downpipe.

Extending to the right-hand side is a lower 1½ storey block set well back from the main wall to accommodate the main entrance in the west side of the 2-storey block. Roof slated as previous: contains a small dormer window, rectangular timber coupled 4-pane casements with partially flat roof; wall similar to main block, with a projecting sandstone stringcourse at doorhead height. Cast iron gutter and downpipe.

Main entrance, in west side of 2-storey block contains a deeply recessed rectangular timber glazed and panelled door, stained and varnished, with a rusticated sandstone flat arch to the head which returns to form the stringcourse of the 1½ storey block.

East elevation consists of the main 2-storey block with hipped roof, with a lower 1½ storey block projecting forward centrally. 1½ storey block has one window, in centre, rectangular timber coupled 4-pane casements, deeply recessed with rusticated sandstone block dressings to reveals, sandstone cill, and rusticated flat arched sandstone head which extends to each side to form a stringcourse; below cill is a shallow recessed panel of basalt stonework with tooled edges to reveals but rough finish to ledge below. Modern flush rooflight in roof above.

Rear elevation: central 2-storey block with lower 1½ storey blocks set back to each side. Roofs and walling as previous to entrance elevation. Two-storey block has two windows to first floor and two to ground floor as previous to north elevation. 1½ storey block to left is as previous to north elevation, including dormer window, and with addition of a ground floor window, coupled casements as previous but without dripboard; sandstone stringcourse as head.
1½ storey block to right has four small square ventilation openings to top of wall, and a rectangular door to left, modern stained and varnished, glazed 15-pane, set below sandstone stringcourse as head.

West elevation is similar to east, with addition of a modern timber plant box across the face of the cill, supported on three iron mounts.

SETTING: The building stands in a rural area on a corner site facing onto an entrance road to an agricultural college; directly opposite is a similar but not identical house (HB20/13/003C) built at the same time as part of an overall architectural composition.
Approached by a short pedestrian path and a vehicular driveway off the entrance road; tarmac path across main entrance and tarmac drive to west; lawns to rear and east; well kept flower beds. Front and east boundary formed by a black stained timber fence containing an original wrought iron pedestrian gate of geometrical design on iron posts, and a pair of modern iron vehicular gates on steel posts to the driveway.
A timber garage with modern metal door stands at the end of the driveway beyond the house; a metal oil tank on rendered plinth walls stands close to the rear elevation of the house, to the east.

Historical information

Built c 1925 as a cottage for the gardener-instructor at Greenmount Agricultural College, designed under the direction of R. Ingleby Smith, chief architect to the Government of Northern Ireland; contractors, T. McKee and Sons, of Belfast. Still used as a staff residence for Greenmount College but not specifically for the gardener-instructor.

References – Primary Sources
1. The Architects' Journal, 11 November 1925, pp 719-725.
2. OS Map 1962-3, Co Antrim 50.
Secondary Sources
1. J.A.K. Dean, The Gate Lodges of Ulster (UAHS, Belfast, 1994), p 17.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

This is an early 20th century building of distinctive form and style. It has undergone some inappropriate alterations but still enjoys a pleasant setting at an entrance to an agricultural college, and together with the similar but not identical building opposite it, and other buildings elsewhere in the grounds in similar materials and architectural idiom, by the same architect, forms part of an interesting group.

General comments

This building was originally listed in the wrong ward and was previously to be found as part of HB20/14/019.