Piney Ridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A two-storey three-bay semi-detached former house and outbuildings, now office, built 1936 to designs by Tulloch & Fitzsimons and situated to the north side of the Knockbracken Healthcare complex west of Saintfield Road in the borough of Castlereagh. L-shaped plan with box-bay to front, additional bay to north, and projecting stairwell bay to rear. Small rear return is abutted by an extension and garage opening to south.

Hipped natural slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and finials and red-brick chimneystacks. Cast-iron ogee rainwater goods and hoppers on projecting eaves with exposed rafter ends. Walling is painted roughcast render on a smooth render plinth. Windows are original metal-framed casements with projecting masonry sills; those to ground floor have art-nouveau leaded and stained glass panels to top; stairwell window to rear has six leaded and stained glass panels. Box bay to front has brick base and slated roof.

The principal elevation faces west with a central entrance and projecting bay at right. Entrance comprises an original round-headed multi-paned metal door, with multi-paned transom and side-lights in a painted brick surround with springers; accessed via two masonry step. Two-light window to first floor. To left is a three-light window at first floor and a four-light window at ground floor. Projecting bay to right has six-light box-bay at ground floor and a three-light window at first floor.

The north elevation is abutted by adjoining building (HB25/15/009E).

The east (rear) elevation is five windows wide to ground floor. First floor has a modern fire-exit to right of centre flanked by two two-light windows and a window to far left. Projecting stairwell bay at left has stairwell window and modern timber door to ground floor accessed via three masonry steps. Small rear return to far right with window to first floor, abutted by the extension, which is further abutted by a slated garage opening to south.

The south elevation has a window to first floor and a two-light window to ground floor. The projecting bay at right has a five-light bow window to ground floor and a two-paned window to first floor; west elevation has a two-light window to first and ground floor (that to ground floor replaces an earlier doorway and has a brick surround with keystone); east elevation is blank.

Setting:

Sited to the north of the Knockbracken Healthcare Complex, and visible from the Cairnshill Road to northeast. One of a collection of villas built to accommodate patients at the hospital. Accessed to south via a narrow tarmacadamed road, lawned to the remaining three sides and tarmacadamed with parking to all sides. Surrounded by mature trees. Together with the adjacent villa (HB25/15/009F), the buildings are mainly of interest due to their group value as part of the Belfast Villa Colony Asylum complex (HB 25/15/009 A - J).

Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Roughcast render
Windows: Metal-framed casements
RWG: Cast-iron

Historical information

The current building is one of a pair of semi-detached dwellings and outbuildings that was built in 1936 by contractors Stewart and Partners. The dwellings were built to designs by Tulloch & Fitzsimons as part of a phase of expansion which included the construction of the ‘Grahamholme’ infirmary and reception block. The houses are not separately valued in the Annual Revisions but are said to have been in use as ‘villas’ i.e. residential accommodation for patients at the asylum. (Boardroom plaque)

Following the deaths of Narcissus and Emily Batt, former owners of the Purdysburn estate, the house and demesne of 295 acres were sold in 1894 to Belfast Corporation for the sum of £29,500 for use as a lunatic asylum and the house was adapted for this use by architects Jackson and Tilley following a competition won by them in 1897. (Craig; www.dia.ie)

A Fever Hospital was built to designs by Young and Mackenzie on part of the estate to the west of the house which opened in 1906. Originally known as the ‘Purdysburn Fever Hospital’ and later as ‘Belvoir Park Hospital’, it was built by Belfast Corporation on land which had been re-allocated from the Purdysburn Estate under the terms of City of Belfast Hospitals Act of 1903. The hospital was the main regional centre for oncology until its closure in 2006 when cancer treatment was transferred to the City Hospital. (HB25/17/007)

The initial purchase at Purdysburn was 295 acres from the representatives of Robert Narcissus. In 1902 a further 88 acres, the site of the present buildings, was acquired from Mr John Morrow. Further purchases of adjoining land were made in 1904, 1911, 1917 and 1919 bringing the total owned by the Corporation to 554 acres. Sixty five acres were allocated by the City Council for the Infectious Diseases Hospital leaving the remainder as asylum property. (Owen, History of Belfast, 1921)

In 1900 the Management Committee of the Lunatic Asylum decided, on the advice of their Medical Superintendent, William Graham MD to build a new Asylum on the site on the Villa Colony principle which would allow the patients to be accommodated in ‘homely villas’ and would also permit ‘classification according to mental and physical condition’. Messrs Tulloch & Fitzsimons of Belfast were the architects, but as work on the villa colony progressed the committee decided to draw on the expertise of G T Hine, architect to the English Lunacy Commissioners. (Belfast Book 1929)

George Thomas Hine was a specialist in asylum architecture which he considered to be ‘almost a distinct profession in itself’. In 1887 he won the competition for an enormous London County Council asylum in Essex (Claybury) which was greatly praised in its time, its ‘compact arrow’ plan becoming the model for asylum design and launching Hine on a career as one of the most successful asylum architects. He held a post of Consulting Architect to the Commissioners in Lunacy from 1897 and designed four major LCC asylums housing over 200 patients each as well as several new county asylums and additions to many others. Most of his early asylums are based on the design for Claybury. Hine’s designs after 1902, in particular, Long Grove in Epsom (1903-7) and Purdysburn (1907-13) often feature dispersed units, although Purdysburn is one of the only mental illness facilities to make use of the colony design. The First World War marked the beginning of a decline in large asylum building programmes in the UK. (www.simoncornwell.com; Roberts)

A dwelling already in existence on the site, ‘Glenavon’ was adapted for the use of 30 patients and two further villas were built in 1902-3, for the accommodation of chronic cases. Two more villas were completed in 1906. In 1907 the Asylum committee authorised the architects to draw up plans for the new Villa Colony Asylum, including four more villas, two churches, a recreation hall and a mortuary. GT Hine was to be consulting architect and the supervising architects were Graeme Watt & Tulloch. Work commenced in 1908, using ‘lunatic labour’ to carry out considerable alterations of contour on the site. (Irish Builder) The cost of the work was estimated at £81,000 and the contractors were H & J Martin and Messrs Robert Corry Ltd. The 1911 census shows that by this stage five villas were occupied by patients, four newly built, housing around 55 patients each and one adapted from a former house on the site which was occupied by 33 patients. A hundred and seventy one patients were accommodated in the former ‘Purdysburn House’, indicating that, in total, the numbers of patients cared for on the site had almost tripled since the previous census of 1901. However, this rise was caused by a disproportionate, more than fourfold, increase in the numbers of female patients. Only male patients were accommodated in the villas while ‘Purdysburn House’ became reserved for female patients. (1911 census)

In 1911 the tender of Messrs Robert Corry Ltd was accepted for the building of two further villas, at a cost of £9,790 and by 1913 these villas had been occupied by ‘working patients’ transferred from Grosvenor Road Asylum. Additions continued to be made to the asylum site over the ensuing years with ‘additional buildings’ planned in 1924-5, 1933-6 and 1938-9, all designed by Messrs Tulloch and Fitzsimons. By 1937 there were 17 villas accommodating 1,320 patients together with a hospital for 146 and a sanatorium for 22 patients.

Belfast’s earlier asylum, built on the site now occupied by the Royal Victoria Hospital, had been constructed in 1829 and was demolished in the 1920s having closed in 1917. This building reflected prevailing attitudes about mental health at the time and was of a prison-like design, comprising numerous single cells with small, heavily barred windows. High walls surrounded the building, the purpose of which was to protect the public from the inmates. (Belfast Book 1929) The asylum was enlarged in 1860 but only had accommodation for 346 patients. Those who could not be accommodated in the asylum were sent to workhouses, or if dangerous, to gaol. Classification of mental disorders was simplistic and included those who would not nowadays be categorised as insane. The four categories were lunatics, curable and incurable, epileptics and idiots. It was not until 1895 that epileptics began to be treated in infirmaries rather than in asylums.

By 1929 Purdysburn mansion house and courtyard buildings together accommodated over 150 female patients. The ‘hospital’ block for those who were identified as sick or infirm contained 100 beds (50 male and 50 female) together with Medical Officers’, Matron’s and Nurse’s apartments, a laboratory and dental rooms. A number of detached villas were placed in the vicinity of the hospital. All were self-contained ‘home-like structures’, each having its own kitchen and designed to accommodate 55 patients each, although numbers were sometimes in excess of this.

Within the extensive grounds were a dairy and poultry farm in which patients were encouraged to work. An orchard and walled gardens produced large amounts of fruit and jam and fresh green vegetables for the patients. Over 8 tons of jam was made in 1929 for the Asylum. (Belfast Book 1929)

Management and clinicians decided to rename Purdysburn in the 1990s in order to attempt to dispel some of the negative associations attached to the name. Today the site is known as Knockbracken Healthcare Park and the site is now shared with around thirty voluntary organisations who work in the healthcare field. The numbers of patients peaked at over 1800 in the mid-1950s but now lies at around 300, largely due to changes in mental health provision and an increased emphasis on treating people within the community. The headquarters of the Belfast Trust is also located on the site. (Mills)

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/9/3 Third Edition OS Map 1901-2
2. PRONI OS/6/3/9/4 Fourth Edition OS Map 1920-21
3. PRONI OS/6/3/9/5 Fifth Edition OS Map 1920-31
4. PRONI OS/6/3/9/7 Seventh Edition OS Map 1938
5. PRONI VAL/1/B/321 Townland Valuation (1828-40)
6. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/29 Griffiths Valuation (1861)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/20/7A-F Annual Revisions (1864-1929)
8. PRONI VAL/12/F/4/9/3 – Annual Revisions (1930-35)
9. 1901 census online
10. 1911 census online
11. Irish Times, 23rd September 1903
12. Irish Times, 12th January 1905
13. Irish Times, 10th April 1906
14. Irish Times, 7th May 1906
15. Irish Times, 28th May 1907
16. Irish Times, 4th March, 1910
17. Irish Times, 19th May 1910
18. Irish Times, 6th August, 1910
19. Irish Times, 8th August 1912
20. Irish Times, 17th August, 1912
21. Irish Times, 14th December 1912
22. Irish Times, 18th October, 1913
23. Irish Times, 13th January 1914
24. Irish Times, 16th May 1914
25. Irish Times, 27th June 1914
26. Irish Times, 7th November 1917
27. British Medical Journal 17th November 1917
28. Irish Builder 10th April 1902
29. Irish Builder 20th April 1907
30. Irish Builder 18th April 1908
31. Irish Builder 27th June 1908
32. Irish Builder 31st October 1908
33. Irish Builder 28th November 1908
34. Irish Builder 12th December 1908
35. Irish Builder 28th January 1909
36. Irish Builder 1 May 1909
37. Irish Builder 29th May 1909
38. Irish Builder 26th June 1909
39. Irish Builder 10th July 1909
40. Irish Builder 19th February 1910
41. Irish Builder 18thFebruary 1911
42. Irish Builder 23rd August 1924
43. Belfast Book, 1929

Secondary Sources

1. Craig, D H “Belfast and Its Infirmary – The Growth of a Hospital 1838 to 1948”
2. Mills, Jason “What’s He Building in There?” The Vacuum, Issue 15
3. Owen, D J “History of Belfast” Belfast: W & G Baird, 1921
4. Reuber, M “The architecture of psychological management: the Irish asylums (1801-1922)” Psychological Medicine, 1996, Vol 26, p.1179-1189
5. Roberts, Andrew ‘Notes on Asylum Architecture’ (available at http://studymore.org.uk/4_13_ta.htm)
6. Thomson, M “The Problem of Mental Deficiency, Eugenics, Democracy and Social Policy in Britain c1870-1959) Oxford Historical Monographs, 1996
7. www.simoncornwell.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

A two-storey three-bay semi-detached former house and outbuildings, now office, built 1936 to designs by Tulloch & Fitzsimons and situated to the north side of the Knockbracken Healthcare complex west of Saintfield Road in the borough of Castlereagh. Architectural detailing is largely intact, with some typical 1930s features such as Art-Nouveau style leaded-and-stained glass panes and an original metal-frame entrance door. Despite a change of use, the internal floor plan is largely unchanged and the setting is largely unspoiled. Together with HB25/15/009E, 'Wyndurst' which is similarly well-preserved, the group is an interesting example of their type and of those produced by prominent local architects Tulloch & Fitzsimmons. However, the buildings are mainly of interest due to their group value as part of the Belfast Villa Colony Asylum complex. (HB 25/15/009 A - J).