364 Beersbridge Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Semi-detached two-bay one-and-a-half storey Scrabo sandstone house with half-hipped natural slate roof, dated 1880, most likely by architects Young & Mackenzie. Rectangular plan form with single-story return to rear north-east. Orientated south-east/north-west with entrance canopy to south-west elevation. Forming part of a row of three pairs of semi-detached houses (HB26/10/002A-F) on the north side of Beersbridge Road.

Half-hipped roof of natural slate, with terracotta ridge, projecting eaves with exposed rafter ends. Two wall-head dormer windows with lead flashed cheeks, hipped natural slate roof, terracotta ridge tiles and exposed rafter ends. Single stack original red brick chimney with corbel and tall clay pot to the south-west and rebuilt red brick chimney stack to north-east, also corbelled with small modern clay pots, rising from original stone base and shared with neighbouring property. Half round cast-iron rainwater goods. Walls of un-coursed rock-faced Scrabo sandstone with cut stone plinth course and continuous cut stone projecting string course at cill level to first floor. All windows timber top-hung casements with painted sills.

Main elevation faces south-east. Single square-headed window to the ground floor, south-east and double to north-east. Ground floor windows with stone relieving arch over stone lintol. Two dormers to first floor level.

South-west elevation has timber barge boards with exposed purlin ends. Projecting entrance canopy, placed centrally, with a natural slate hipped roof supported on timber brackets. Modern glazed multi-pane timber entrance door with glazed fanlight. Entrance set back from face of wall and accessed by two steps. Cast iron boot scraper in small arched recess to lower north-west of entrance. Single square-headed window opening to south-west of entrance and similar to first floor in apex of gable. South-west elevation joined to modern flat-roofed single-storey garage with rendered walls and metal 'up-and-over' door.

North-west elevation has a modern single-storey flat-roofed return with rendered walls and uPVC windows to the left-hand-side, abutting rear yard wall. The original house has two square-headed tall window openings and two hipped dormers to the roof directly above. To the right-hand side, sits a further single storey flat roofed modern extension with rendered walls.

The north-east elevation is attached to adjoining house (HB26/10/002B).

Setting
House located on north side of Beersbridge Road with small garden area to front, bounded by hedge and with large paired timber sheeted gates to vehicular entrance. One of a pair, attached to HB26/10/002B.

Materials:
Roof: Natural slate
Walling: Scrabo sandstone
RWG: Cast iron
Windows: Timber top-hung casements, with uPVC to modern appendages.

Historical information

No. 364 Beersbridge Road, a semi-detached two-storey stone house, was constructed in 1880. Along with the neighbouring numbers 366-374 Beersbridge Road (HB26/10/002B-F), it was constructed as part of the easterly expansion of the town of Belfast which occurred during the late-Victorian period. Having formerly been characterised by its Georgian townhouses, Belfast’s town centre was redeveloped into a predominantly commercial area by the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. With the continued expansion of the town and the subsequent increase in population, a surge in the construction of new residential streets and terraced dwellings was undertaken in areas outside the town’s former urban boundary.

Nos 364-374 Beersbridge Road were most likely designed by Young & Mackenzie, a local partnership that the Dictionary of Irish Architects describes as ‘the most successful architectural practise in Belfast … the leading architects for the Presbyterian Church in the North East [who also] received some of the most important commercial commissions in the city.’ Young & Mackenzie’s papers record that the firm designed five double houses for the Bloomfield Land & Building Co. Ltd. along the Beersbridge Road (nos 382-400) in 1878; these ten red brick dwellings were joined by the neighbouring numbers 376-380 in 1880. Nos 364-374 Beersbridge Road were also constructed in 1880 for the Bloomfield Land & Building Co. Ltd. and are remarkably similar in design to the houses designed by Young & Mackenzie, however numbers 364-374 are more impressive, possessing additional dormer windows and employing Scrabo Sandstone in their facades. The terrace was first depicted on the third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps in 1901.

No.364 Beersbridge Road was first recorded in the valuation sources in 1880 when the Annual Revisions set its rateable value at £15. The building was leased by The Bloomfield Land & Building Co. Ltd., which was formed by the landowning Boyd family in 1874 to secure leases for building projects in the East Belfast townlands of Ballyhackamore and Ballycloughan. The valuations also note that No. 364 Beersbridge Road was also known as ‘Myrtle Cottage’ and that the first recorded occupant was a Mr. Isaac Green. By 1911 Myrtle Cottage was occupied by a Mr. James Eaton who was employed as a draughtsman in the local shipyards; the census building return of that year described Myrtle Cottage as 2nd class dwelling that consisted of six inhabited rooms. By the cancellation of the Annual Revisions in 1930 the total rateable value had been only slightly decreased to £14 10s, but under the First Revaluation (1935) this was raised to £28 at which it remained by the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72).

No. 364 Beersbridge Road was listed, along with the adjoining dwellings, in 1984. Immediately after the building was listed, the windows to No. 364 were replaced with modern frames. Further restoration work took place in 1985 when the roof was reslated and its chimney rebuilt. The most recent changes to No. 364 Beersbridge Road took place in 2006 when the stone façade of building was repaired and repointed (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/3/4/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map (1901)
2. PRONI D2194/2/2 – Young & Mackenzie Papers (1878)
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2C-2G – Annual Revisions (1879-1897)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/1-10 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930)
5. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/11 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935)
6. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/25 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
7. Ulster Town Directories (1877-1943)
8. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
9. First Survey Record – HB26/10/002 (1984)
10. First Survey Image – HB26/10/002 (No Date)
11. NIEA HB Records – HB26/10/002A

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects website - http://www.dia.ie/
2. Natural Stone Database website - http://www.stonedatabase.com

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Semi-detached two-bay two-storey Scrabo sandstone house with half-hipped natural slate roof, dated 1880 - most likely designed by the prominent Belfast firm of architects, Young & Mackenzie. Originally known as 'Myrtle Cottage', rectangular plan form facing south with entrance canopy to east side elevation and single-storey modern returns to rear. Although original sliding sash windows have been replaced with top-hung casements, the majority of original fabric and detailing survives intact and the interior has also retained some of its character, style and proportions. The building has group value with the adjacent row of semi-detached houses to the north of Beersbridge Road, HB26/10/002 B-F inclusive, located on the north side of Beersbridge Road.