585 ORMEAU ROAD

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two/Three-storey red-brick, late Victorian house located on the Ormeau Road just South of the intersection with the Ravenhill Road, approx. 3 km from Belfast city centre. The main part of the house is rectangular on plan with a two-storey rectangular-shaped return and enclosed yard to rear. One of a row of 7 no. terraced houses set on the West side of the Ormeau Road, this section of the Ormeau Road is residential consisting mainly of red-brick terraced houses built at the end of the nineteenth century and some 20th century housing of varying styles.

Materials:
Roof : Natural slate
RWG: uPVC
Walls : Smooth red clay brick laid in Flemish bond to front/ English garden wall bond to rear
Windows: Painted-timber top-hung single-glazed to front and rear

Front elevation (E)
The front elevation has a replacement varnished timber door with glazed margin panels and glazed overlight (plain glazing) to the right and a painted-timber top-hung single-glazed window to the left. The doorway is square-headed with a painted masonry head and modern hood consisting of a slimline canopy supported on scrolled metal brackets. There are 2 no. similar windows at first floor level. Window openings have smooth painted plaster reveals and are square-headed with soldier course headers. Brickwork is laid in Flemish bond and there is a series of slightly projecting decorative polychromatic brick course at eaves level(painted white). There is a Natural slate roof with uPVC guttering and a replacement red-brick chimney stack on the left-hand side with a projecting brick course and red clay pots.

Rear elevation (W)
(The rear yard of the house was not accessible at the time of survey and the following description is based on inspection from the rear laneway)

The rear elevation of the main house at first floor level has on the right-hand side 1 no. square- headed door opening with a modern painted timber glazed door servicing a set of metal fire-escape stairs. There is a large rectangular uPVC clad flat-roofed dormer with a uPVC double-glazed window at roof level above the first floor escape exit. To the left-hand side is the original two-storey return. The rear of the house and the rear return are both finished in smooth painted render. The S elevation of the return at first floor level is blank. The W gable elevation of the return adjoins a single-storey yard wall. There is 1no. square- headed window opening with a painted timber top-hung single-glazed window on the left-hand side of the gable at first floor level and a pointed- arch headed window with painted timber window on the left-hand side at ground level. There is an enclosed yard with square-headed doorway with painted timber boarded door. There is a masonry coping at the top of the yard wall embedded with broken glass with a barbed wire fence over. Roofs are natural slate. There are clipped verges to the return gable. There are uPVC rwgs and soil stacks to rear of house.

Side elevation (N) abuts No 583 Ormeau Road - HB26.01.002A

Side elevation (S) abuts No 587 Ormeau Road - HB26.01.002C

There is a small front garden with concrete path, set behind replacement red-brick walling mounted with scrolled metal railings. Set of replacement red-brick piers with concrete pyramidal caps supporting small scrolled metal gate. The rear of the terrace is bounded by a laneway. On the other side of the laneway there is a modern single-storey garage with cement render finish, concrete tile roof, painted timber soffit/bargeboards, metal garage door and painted timber windows. At the rear of the garage, a long narrow garden extends to W.

Historical information

This house along with its three matching neighbours (nos.583 and 587-89 Ormeau Road – the four originally known as ‘Belvoir Place’) were built sometime between 1858 and c.1864, as they are not shown on the OS map of the former year, but do appear in the 1865 street directory. It is possible they were completed before 1862, as they are recorded as what seem to be original entries (as opposed to subsequent annotations) in the valuation book commencing in that year. That said, they are described as ‘those four new two-storey houses’ in a newspaper advert of March 1866, suggesting they were constructed closer to that date – most likely around 1864. They are described in the same advert as ‘comfortably finished [with] neat gardens in front and rere, and in a most healthy locality, within half an hour’s walk from Belfast and close to the Parish Church and Meeting-House.’ The group were probably developed by Thomas Courtney, who is listed as the immediate lessor in the valuation book and who, in 1871, added the matching house to the south (no.591) and the pair of taller dwellings just beyond (nos. 593-95).

The sequence of occupation of no.583 is as follows: William Raphael – ‘clothier’ (to c.1868), John S. Keeling or Killing – ‘stamp engraver’ and subsequently ‘photographer’ and ‘artist’ (c.1868-91), Robert Jeffers – ‘stationer’ (1891-98), Francis Finlay (1898-99), Rev. Frank Lavery (c.1899-1900), Annie Aston – ‘teacher’ (c.1902-c.29) who is recorded in the 1911 census as the sole occupant, with the house itself a second class dwelling with eight rooms. Ms Aston was succeeded by L.H. McKenna ‘clerk’ (c.1929-c.33), John Lindsay – ‘nurseryman’ (c.1933-c.40), J. Jenkins – ‘labourer’ (c.1940-44), J. McLaughlin, ‘publican’ (1944-c.48), John Jenkins – ‘motor driver’ (c.1948-c.53), William Harvey (c.1953-c.57), John Jenkins – ‘motor driver’ (c.1957-c.85), with Mary B. Jenkins still living there in 1995.

References – Primary sources
1 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1858 to 1996
2 PRONI VAL12B/43A/7, annual valuation revision book, 1862-73
3 Belfast Morning News, 23 March 1866
4 Belfast Telegraph, 7 April 1871
5 PRONI OS8/30/2/OS town plan of Belfast, 1871-73
6 Marcus Ward’s ‘Shilling Map of Belfast’, 1879
7 PRONI VAL12B/43A/18, annual valuation revision book, 1882-96
8 PRONI OS8/30/3/59 1883-84
9 PRONI OS8/30/4/59 1896
10 PRONI VAL12B/43A/34, annual valuation revision book, 1897-1905
11 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online]
12 PRONI OS8/30/5/59 1903
13 HED File relating to HB26.01.002A (c.1986- )

Secondary sources
1 Royle, Stephen A., ‘Irish Historic Towns Atlas No.17 – Belfast, Part II, 1840 to 1900’ (Irish Royal Academy, 2007)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

2/3-storey, red-brick late Victorian terrace house built c.1860. Part of a terrace of 7 no. Similar houses (HB26/01/002A-G), located on the Ormeau Road just South of the intersection with the Ravenhill Road, approx. 3 km from Belfast city centre. The house retains its external character, despite replacement of the original windows, door and front boundary. The house and adjacent houses on the terrace form a distinct group, particularly to the rear, where the yards and original garden allotments are remarkably intact. An example of modest late Victorian urban terraced house, built at a time when Belfast was expanding rapidly from the city centre southwards along the main thoroughfares of the Ormeau, Lisburn and Malone Roads.