18 York Avenue,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached multi-bay two-storey rendered house, built c.1900, set on an L-plan facing east, with a cast-iron veranda and balcony, a square-plan tower, three projecting bays and a three-bay two-storey return.

Pitched natural slate roofs, terracotta ridgecomb tiles and ball finials to gables with decorative timber bargeboards. Pyramidal roof to tower with cast-iron weather-vane and deep moulded timber eaves. Several rendered chimneystacks with corbelled caps and terracotta chimney pots. Deep moulded eaves (returning to the gables) supporting ogee-moulded cast-iron guttering and cast-iron downpipes. Flat-roof to the square-plan south bay window, hipped natural slate to the canted bays, all having deep moulded cornice to the ogee-moulded guttering.

Painted pebbledash rendered walling and moulded plinth course.

Segmental-headed window openings with moulded architrave surrounds on continuous moulded sill courses to both floors. Many window openings have a keystone with a sheaf of wheat in relief. Segmental-headed four-over-one timber sash windows with ogee horns. The window to the east gable (at first floor level) is a Wyatt style tripartite window. Single-pane timber sash windows to the return.

To the base of the square-plan tower is an arched window opening with a fixed-pane window and a square-headed door opening from the veranda to a small entrance porch (formerly an open porch). A new timber glazed door opens into the porch which has an encaustic tiled floor. The original timber doorcase comprises a timber panelled door flanked by sidelights with a dentilled cornice lintel and tripartite overlight. The door and sidelights have decorative etched glazing.

Front elevation (east) is three bays wide with a single-bay gable to the south containing a canted bay to the ground floor, square-plan tower to the centre containing the entrance porch with a segmental-headed window opening to the porch. To the right of the porch is a cast-iron veranda cast at ‘DAVID KING & SONS, KEPPOCH IRON WORKS, POSSILPARE GLASGOW’. Comprising four decorative columns with foliate capitals and decorative bracket panels supporting a timber deck with a decorative cast-iron balustrade over.

The south side elevation is two bays wide with a flat-roof bay to the right and a modern conservatory to the left.

Rear elevation (west) not visible. Tall rubble stone wall encloses the site close to the rear elevation.

North side elevation is a single bay gabled elevation with a three-sided canted bay to the ground floor and a lower three-bay two-storey return.

Set on an elevated site overlooking the sea, accessed by a long gravel avenue to the north with mature trees, opening onto York Avenue through a pair of rubble basalt and yellow brick piers flanked by rubble basalt walls.

Roof: Natural slate / terracotta ridgecomb tiles
Walling: Painted pebbledash render
Windows: Timber sash
Rainwater goods: Ogee-moulded cast-iron

Historical information

The building is first shown on the third edition OS map of 1902. Valuation Revisions for Whitehead record a ‘house, yard and small garden’occupied by Robert McKeown (revised to Jane McKeown in 1928) and leased from Robert Symington. The building is valued at £38.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/47/2 -Second Edition OS Map (1857)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/47/3 -Third Edition OS Map (1902)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/47/6 -Sixth Edition OS Map (1921)
4. PRONI VAL/12/E/52/1 -Valuation Revisions Map (1907-1913)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/7/19 A -Valuation Revisions (1926)
6. PRONI VAL/12/F/1/16/1/1 - 25” Map Whitehead (1931-5)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This Edwardian house has a complicated plan with a variety of projections and roof arrangements. The decorative veranda to the entrance and the tower over the entrance are particularly noteworthy. The well landscaped setting in addition to an intact interior make this an impressive example of an early 20th century detached seaside villa.