Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A five-bay two-storey gabled former house built c.1880 in the Arts-and-Crafts style, converted to a clubhouse c.1900; located on the south shores of Belfast Lough at the corner of Cultra Avenue and Seafront Road. Plan-form comprises three gabled blocks with inter-linking bays; left gable is extended to rear; abutted by a single-storey flat-roof and a pitched roof return, which adjoins a gabled two-storey modern block.

Pitched rosemary tile roof with bargeboards and decorative half-timbered gables. Red-brick chimneystacks with corbelling. Plastic rainwater goods on exposed rafter ends. Walling is painted rough-cast render on red-brick plinth. Windows are a variety of timber-framed sashes, tri-partite and bi-partite, mainly multi-paned to upper sash and single pane to lower at first floor; all with cambered heads. Oriel window over secondary entrance porch; bay windows to ground floor are timber-framed casements.

The principal elevation faces north and is irregularly arranged with a variety of openings to each of the gables and inter-linking wings. The left gable has a projecting integral porch (ridge projects from verge at mid-level) with upper storey jettied out on corbels and oriel window over; to left is a bow window with diamond lattice glazing to top sections and tripartite timber-mullioned window to first floor. Central and right gables (that to right is wider) each have bay windows to ground floor; central gable with bipartite window to first floor; right gable with four-paned window to first floor. Linking wing, to left, has plate glass window to ground floor and tri-partite dormer window; right wing has projecting gabled porch with balcony to first floor. Porch has battered plinth and is accessed by a single stone step; containing a six-panelled double-leaf timber door with decorative panels to top; brass door knobs and key-hole; surmounted by a decorative transom light. To either side of porch is a small sash window. Verandah has full-length dormer window with double-leaf timber door and paired windows to each side.

The east elevation has a boiler-house and entrance porch under a flat-roof; projecting single-storey bay to right with hipped rosemary tile roof, having small sash window to left and to exposed section; tripartite dormer over with roof-light to left. To far right is a 9/1 sash window.

The rear (south) elevation is almost entirely abutted by modern extensions (of no interest). To central gable is a 1/1 paired window at first floor; tripartite dormer window to left linking wing.

The west elevation has three 12/1 sash windows to ground floor (that to centre is paired); replacement window under gable to first floor centre. Abutted at right by two-storey modern block with timber fire-escape.

Setting:

Situated on a moderately-sized site in a residential area on the shores of Belfast Lough, forming part of a row of houses similar in style and date. Bounded to road by roughcast wall with piers having pointed caps and connected by rope chains. To centre is a replacement metal latch-gate with attached lettering “RNITC”. Lawned and shrubbed garden to front and rear; enclosed boatyard to west incorporating shed; paved car-parking to east.

Roof: Pitched rosemary tiles
Walling: Roughcast render
Windows: Variety of mainly timber-framed sliding sash
RWG: Plastic

Historical information

The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club originated with the foundation of the Ulster Canoe Club in 1889 (LQ notes). The latter association then changed its name to the Ulster Sailing Club and amalgamated with the Cultra Yacht Club in 1899 to become the North of Ireland Yacht Club. (Belfast Newsletter) In September 1902, the club received a royal designation from King Edward VII. (www.rniyc.org)

A building is shown on the site on the first edition OS map of 1834, and this appears to be still present by the third edition of 1900-02 together with an additional building to the east captioned ‘North of Ireland Yacht Club Ho’. It is not clear whether any of the earlier structure has been incorporated into the present building, but it appears to have largely gone by the fourth edition of 1919-31.

In 1897 and 1898 the vice-commodore of the club and local landlord, R J Kennedy, placed two houses at the disposal of the club, the Belfast Newsletter of 1898 noting that ‘Owing to the large number of members taking part in the racing, the club have found it necessary to take another house at Cultra in addition to the one which the vice-commodore, Mr R J Kennedy, generously placed at its disposal last year; the new house will have sleeping accommodation for four or five persons’. (Belfast Newsletter) This would seem to suggest that the present club-house was adapted from an earlier building, possibly a domestic dwelling.

A year later in March 1899, the Belfast Newsletter reported that the Rere-Commodore, J H Burke Murphy had signed the contract for the addition to the clubhouse ‘of a billiard-room, four bedrooms, dressing-room and bicycle shed and that the work would be commenced at once. With such a fine house, a membership of over two hundred, and a large fleet of yachts, he considered the club should be one of the best in the North of Ireland.’ The work was completed in July 1899, the Newsletter asserting that the club was now ‘one of the most commodious buildings of its kind to be seen anywhere’.

The map evidence suggests that the club-house was further extended to the west between the third (1900-02) and fourth (1919-31) editions. It may be that before 1900 the club-house consisted of the two gabled blocks to the west and the third gabled block was a slightly later addition in a matching idiom.

The listing query file states that the club-house was built between 1898 and 1904 to designs by Vincent Craig. However, this assertion is not supported by the primary evidence and it appears that there has been some confusion with the Royal Ulster Yacht Club by Vincent Craig which was also built around this period. (HB23/03/009)

References:

1. PRONI OS/6/3/1/1 – First Edition OS Map 1834
2. PRONI OS/6/3/1/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858
3. PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02
4. PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31
5. PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
6. Belfast Newsletter, 24th March 1898
7. Belfast Newsletter, 3rd March 1899
8. Belfast Newsletter, 15th May 1899
9. Belfast Newsletter, 22nd May 1899
10. Belfast Newsletter 31st July 1899

Secondary Sources

1. LQ file – HB23LQ061
2. www.rniyc.org

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A five-bay two-storey gabled former house built c.1880 in the Arts-and-Crafts style, converted into a clubhouse c.1900 and located on the south shores of Belfast Lough. Characterised by some of the major components of the Art-and-Crafts style, including an irregular arrangement with half-timbered gables, Rosemary tiled roof and asymmetrical fenestration. Although the original house is no longer discernable, the clubhouse (c.1900) retains much of its early appearance and character with a strong domestic feel. Alterations and extensions are relatively sympathetic and mainly to the rear. Facing out over the Lough with uninterrupted views, and forming part of a row of houses similar in style and date, the setting has not been compromised. Of some architectural interest, the clubhouse is also of social and historic interest to the local community, reflecting the maritime interests of the area.