1 Tudor Park

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A multi-bay two-storey red brick attached house, built c. 1850, located to the south of Bangor Road, Holywood. L-shaped on plan with two-storey return and single storey extensions to rear.

Hipped natural slate roof with tall brick chimneys having stone plinth and terracotta pots. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods on sandstone eaves. Walling is Flemish bonded red brick with painted sandstone quoins and plinth. Porch is painted masonry. Windows are timber-framed sliding sash with horizontal glazing bars; 1/1 to ground floor and 2/2 to first floor (unless otherwise stated). Painted sandstone moulded squared and lugged surrounds with projecting sill on console brackets to first floor; to ground floor windows have moulded sandstone surround; round arch pediment with decorative scrolled console brackets; projecting sill on squared console brackets to plinth. Canted bay window has moulded surrounds divided by Doric pilasters to plinth; decorative scrolled consoles to architrave.

The principal elevation faces northwest; comprising to left; canted bay with hipped roof to ground floor and single opening to first floor. Right bay is slightly recessed and is two openings wide to ground and first floor.

The northeast elevation is the main entrance comprising central projecting porch opening to the south; symmetrical single openings to north and south, south also having to right a slender round-headed 2/2 sash window with horizontal glazing bars. To far south is simple timber door. Porch has round-headed windows to north and east, set into moulded surround with projecting sill and keyblock. To corners are moulded Doric pilasters with base; console bracket with Doric capital heads and raised moulded cornice to architrave; architrave having ovolo moulded cornice topped by small pediment. Door has six bolection-moulded raised panels with brass door furniture; moulded architrave; accessed by single deep stone step.

The rear elevation comprises two-storey return to left and to right; projecting gable abutted by two-storey return. Return to left contains Diocletian window to first floor; to west; small projection with pent roof and single modern timber-framed window to first floor; abutted to ground floor by single-storey L-shaped extension.

Two storey return to right has two openings to each floor and is abutted at right by the single-storey L-shaped extension. Further modern extension to this.

The southwest elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB23/20/019A)

Setting

The house is situated on a leafy private lane; entrance to Tudor Park with cement rendered gate piers and cast iron gates; further set of painted masonry piers with simple stone caps. Driveway is shared access with HB 23/20/019A; pebbled driveway and garden to front, large mature garden to rear. The houses are separated by a simple hedgerow to front and rear, and as a pair they are enclosed to all sides by hedgerow and trees.

Roof: natural slate
Walling: brick
Windows: timber
RWG: cast-iron

Historical information

This house forms part of a pair of semi-detached houses, built c1850 by Henry Murney, a successful tobacco merchant with a business in High Street, Belfast.

According to Merrick, this area of Holywood began to become popular with well-to-do businessmen and merchants in the1830s and 40s, “The district most favoured by this newly and rapidly evolved class was the triangle of land bounded by Bangor Road, Victoria Road and Croft Road. This higher ground proved attractive because being outside the town, there was the scope to site each villa in four or five acres of prime woodland which could then be landscaped to look like a small country estate and more importantly, the entire area commanded unrivalled views of Belfast Lough and the County Antrim hills without being too exposed. It was soon to become unofficially known as High Holywood”. (Merrick, p.56)

The houses are set within a group of three pairs of semi-detached houses, that together were known as ‘Tudor Park’. The houses are first shown on the OS map of 1858 together with a ‘gate lodge’ on the Bangor Road entrance to the demesne. Merrick notes that the gate lodge and castellated gates were lost when a private housing estate was built in the grounds in the 1970s. (Merrick, p.58)

The current house is listed in Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64) as occupied by Edward Pim and leased from Henry Murney. It is valued at £56 and a sketch plan and dimensions are given. The valuer comments, Brick houses, neatly got up but not large...Good red brick houses with stone dressings and quoins’. There is noted to be a small greenhouse in the garden. Edward and George Pim are listed in the Belfast street directory for 1861 as ‘tea dealers, wine importers and general grocers’ with premises in High Street. Edward Pim was a Quaker and his death was announced in ‘The British Friend’ of 1878.

Murney appears to have been letting out the house as there are numerous changes of occupier in the ensuing years. Occupiers include, Mary A Carson (1887), James McGee (1900), Isabella O’Rorke (1906) and Charles W Leathem (1915), The valuation drops by degrees to £42 in 1891, perhaps indicating a want of repair. Frederick Hoey becomes the immediate lessor by 1909, following the death of his uncle Henry Murney in 1907. (McKee)

References:

Primary Sources

1.PRONI OS/6/3/1/2 – Second Edition OS map 1858
2.PRONI OS/6/3/1/3 – Third Edition OS Map 1900-02
3.PRONI OS/6/3/1/4 – Fourth Edition OS Map 1919-31
4.PRONI OS/6/3/1/5 – Fifth Edition OS Map 1938-41
5.PRONI VAL/2/B/3/1 – Griffith’s Valuation Map (1856-64)
6.PRONI VAL/2/B/3/18B – Griffith’s Valuation (1856-64)
7.PRONI VAL/12/B/17/10A-G – Annual Revisions (1867-1930)

Secondary Sources

1.Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory, 1861
2.Brett, C.E.B. “Buildings of North County Down” Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2002
3.The British Friend, 1878, p.48
4.McKee, M “Ripple, The Murney Brothers and the Marble Clock” in Waterlines, Journal of the Royal Ulster Yacht Club, 2008
5.Merrick, Tony “Buildings of Holywood” Holywood: Holywood Advertiser, 1986

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
V. Authorship

Evaluation

A two-storey mid-nineteenth century brick and sandstone semi detached house. Much of its historic detailing is of superior quality and craftsmanship. It is representative of the expansion of Holywood in the mid- Nineteenth century. Although its setting has been compromised by modern development, there are six houses in total in Tudor Park, built by the wealthy tobacco merchant Henry Murney and they form a notable group. A fine, well-preserved example of the type Belfast’s wealthy merchants were building in the mid 19th century.

General comments

Please note this record has been renumbered is was previously recorded as HB23/20/019