Dalriada House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached three-bay two-storey Italianate house, built c.1850, aligned east-west, located to grounds of the University of Ulster at Jordanstown off the Shore Road to south. Rectangular on plan, facing west; porch to west, two-storey pitched addition to north, two-storey extension to east.

Roof is hipped slated with flat central section concealed behind leaded parapet, rendered chimneystack and moulded caps to ridge. Walling is painted roughcast with chamfered smooth-rendered quoins, smooth plinth stringcourse to ground floor mid-window level, moulded between floors, and frieze with projection moulded cornice. Windows are square-headed with moulded architraves. First floor are 6/6 sashes with lugged bases to architraves; ground floor has 2/2 sash with horns, moulded sills and drip moulds supported by consoles over moulded vertical banding

Principal (west) elevation is abutted centrally by porch. Porch has paired Doric pilasters with simple entablatures supporting perforated parapet to flat roof, central painted timber three-panelled double-leaf door up two steps, with overlight. Porch cheeks are blank except for rectangular panel to overlight level.

North elevation is multi-bay with left end abutted by addition of no interest. Exposed elevation has replacement 6/6 sashes with smooth-rendered architraves to both floors. First floor centre has three vertical multi-light casements (to staircase level), ground floor bay adjacent to addition has square-headed modern entrance and is abutted by flat-roofed covered walkway.

East (rear) elevation right end is abutted by extension. Exposed elevation is three windows wide, detailed as principal elevation but ground floor windows lack consoles over vertical bands. Extension has a two-window-wide bow detailed as east elevation but with a raised (half-storey) parapet. Left cheek is two windows wide with only one window to first floor. Right cheek is abutted to ground floor by modern extension of no interest and exposed first floor is blank.

South elevation has three bays with central bay abutted by three-window-wide breakfront with bow bay to ground floor (the three ground floor breakfront windows are bowed sashes).

Setting

Grounds of the University with car park to front, access roads adjacent and various other campus buildings nearby. Gate lodge (HB21/08/004B) is located to southeast on the Shore Road

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Roughcast
Windows: timber sashes
Rainwater goods: cast-iron

Historical information

The building first appears in the second edition OS map of 1857 and is captioned ‘Dalriada’. The Griffiths Valuation (1859) records ‘Dalriada’ and lists a house, offices, gate lodge & land. The occupier is Philip Johnston, with the lessor described as Belfast Banking Company. There is a note added which reads “…purchased by Mr. Johnston from Belfast Banking Company for about £6,000…. It is said there is some difficulty about the [title] and meantime Mr. J [pays] rent [some] £300 a year or 50 cent a purchase....”.

The building is described as ‘elegant cement finished & oil painted’ and is valued at £80 initially, and then revised to £83 and later to £135 (although dates of revisions not added). A hand drawn map of the site is found in the fieldbook. Information given on the rent mentions that 'some say £300 a year and paid £700', and also notes that ‘the building said to have cost £5,000.’ A Mr. Sanderson has the gate lodge ‘rent free.’

Valuation Revisions record the following changes. A revised entry in Book B in the 1870’s (not dated) values the buildings at £142. In Book C (1880s) the name of the occupier changes to Samuel Johnston. In Book D, an entry in 1890 the property is entered in two parts and is divided into house, office, lands with the gate lodge having a separate entry. The total value of the site remains the same. Book F of 1903 records the occupier of the gate lodge to John Hagan.

References

Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/57/1 -First edition OS map (1833)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/57/2 - Second edition OS map (1857)
3. PRONI VAL/1/A/1/57-Townland Valuation Map (1834)
4. PRONI VAL/1/B/1/115A+B -Townland Valuation Fieldbook (1836)
5. PRONI VAL/2/A/1/57 - Griffiths Valuation Map (1859)
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/1/13A+B - Griffiths Valuation Fieldbook (1859)
7. PRONI VAL/12/D/1/57 - Valuation Revision Map (1859-1876)
8. PRONI VAL/12/B/1/12 A-K - Valuation Revision Fieldbook (1860-1909)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A two-storey, three-bay Italianate house, constructed c1850 and retaining many original features. It remains as one of several former large merchant's residences which characterise the early development of the area.