25 Ballymullan Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A single storey with two attic floors three-bay detached house in the Domestic-Revival style; dated 1926 and located on a large mature site north of the Ballymullan Road in Crawfordsburn. Rectangular on plan with dormers, canted bay to west, box-bay to south and single-storey extension to east with garage to south.

Steeply pitched, rosemary-tiled, half-hipped with gablet roof with projecting purlins and angled ridge tiles; roughcast rendered chimneystack to rear slope having six clay pots; smaller chimneystack to ridgeline with three clay pots; roof tower 'dovecote' to east. Cast-iron half-round rainwater goods on timber-panelled overhanging eaves; cast-iron hopper dated “1926”. Walling is painted roughcast render on recessed red-brick plinth; stretcher-bonded red-brick to veranda. Timber panelling in Tudor-style to entrance bay to north elevation. Variety of multi-pane steel casement windows having leaded glazing and terracotta-tiled sills; bay windows with rosemary-tiled roofs; dormers with steeply overhanging roofs.

The entrance (north) elevation has three multi-pane hipped dormer windows with glazed cheeks (that to centre is tri-partite and surmounted by two diminutive roof-lights; flanking dormers are bi-partite). Central entrance bay to ground floor is timber panelled and slightly recessed and comprises single lattice window with timber sill, to either side of slightly projecting porch accessed by two red-brick steps. Gothic-style three-panelled timber door in Tudor-style timber panelled surround; having decorative cast-iron panels and door furniture. Entrance bay is flanked by multi-pane tri-partite windows.

The east elevation has half-hipped gablet roof detail with overhanging eaves on projecting purlins. Elongated multi-paned tri-partite window to upper attic floor; below are three multi-pane windows to lower attic floor (that to left is larger). Timber sheeted tower 'dovecote' to left rising above roof slope and terminating in a pyramidal tiled roof with finial. Ground floor has half-panelled timber door to centre; to left is multi-paned window.
Abutted to right by small single storey hipped roofed return comprising single multi-pane window to north face, south face blank, east face is blank and abutted by corrugated iron lean-to (south face open).
Abutted to left by larger single-storey hipped roofed return comprising single window flanked by timber sheeted doors to north face, blank east face, south face abutted by flat roofed return.
Abutments and wall to east create a central yard partially covered with corrugated plastic roofing and accessed via decorative iron latch gate.

The garden elevation faces south and comprises central gabled bay having hipped roofed box-bay to ground floor surmounted by multi-pane bi-partite window.

To right is a multi-pane tri-partite window. Flat roofed return to far right comprises stepped parapet walls to east and west faces, gutter to south; large window to left, diminutive window to right to west face; south face blank; east face has door to left and large original garage door to right.
To left is recessed bay with overhanging roof supported on three square timber columns to create veranda, accessed by two brick steps (porch entirely in red-brick). To right of veranda is original three-panelled timber door having diamond lattice glazing to top section and cast-iron door handle; to left is a multi-pane bi-partite window; to roof above rear door is a small multi-pane hipped dormer with glazed cheeks.

The west elevation has half-hipped gablet roof detail with overhanging eaves on projecting purlins. Left of centre at ground floor is a single storey hipped roofed canted bay window fully glazed over plinth wall with two multi- pane bi-partite windows over. To far right at ground floor is a timber framed veranda opening infilled with multi-pane upper panel and solid lower panel.

Setting

Situated on a large mature site off a well-established residential street in Crawfordsburn village. Tarmacadamed driveway to southeast; mature garden to north; landscaped garden to south having miniature hedgerows and shrubs; all enclosed by mature hedgerow and trees.

Roof: Tiled
Walling: Render
Windows: Metal
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

‘Coolnashee’ is dated 1926 and is first shown, uncaptioned, on the fifth edition OS map (1938-41). The area of land enclosed by the Ballymullan and Ballyrobert Roads, to the west of Crawfordsburn, had been partially developed by the turn of the twentieth century and the first few decades of the new century saw it divided into plots, with substantial houses built on each.

The earliest name to be associated with the house is John Ronald Howard Greeves, born 1900, a former pupil of Campbell College and it appears likely that Greeves built the house for himself. Greeves graduated from Queen’s in 1921 in electrical engineering and served in the Second World War, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel by 1945. He was the director of J and TM Greeves Ltd, Belfast, a very large flax spinning concern with premises on the Falls Road that had been founded by his grandfather and great-uncle in 1862. Greeves was a keen amateur naturalist and a frequent contributor to the Irish Naturalists Journal on ornithological and botanical subjects. He became a Fellow of the Irish Genealogical Society, and Chairman of the Ulster Genealogical and Historical Guild. His great grandfather was the architect Thomas Jackson and he was born and spent many of his later years at Altona, a house built by Jackson in 1863-4. (www.bob-sinton.com; Campbell College Register)

The house remains in use as a dwelling.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
2. Campbell College Register 1894-1954 (available at www.lennonwylie.co.uk)

Secondary Sources

1. www.bob-sinton.com – Family History website

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Coolnashee is a single storey with two attic floors three-bay detached house in the Domestic-Revival style; dated 1926. The house has been well-preserved and displays some good Domestic-Revival style detailing, including the original fenestration. Although an interesting example of the type, it is of a late date and not of special architectural or historic interest.

General comments

This record was completed without access to primary source material held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.