Moyrath

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey stucco-fronted former house, built c.1880, with central advanced entrance bay. Rectangular on plan facing south with pair of two-storey rear returns and located on a landscaped site on the west side of Belmont Road. Now subdivided into flats with a two-storey detached block to the rear, built c.2000.

Hipped natural slate roof with rolled lead ridges, lead valleys and tall symmetrically-placed rendered profiled chimneystacks with terracotta pots. Moulded cast-iron guttering to bracketed deep overhanging eaves and cast-iron downpipes. Unpainted ruled-and-lined stucco walling with moulded plinth course, deep moulded cornice between floors, eaves moulding and continuous moulded sill and impost mouldings. Segmental-headed window openings to first floor, square-headed to ground floor with stop-chamfered reveals, mouldings to the heads and possibly original single-pane timber sash windows with ogee horns.

Three-bay front elevation with an advanced full-height central entrance bay and windows arranged in pairs to both floors. Segmental-headed door opening with stop-chamfered surround flanked by three-quarter length pilasters surmounted by scrolled foliate console brackets supporting hood cornice. Original flat-panelled timber door with bolection moulding and glazed fanlight having gilt lettering; 'Moyrath House'. Door opens onto concrete step with short plinth wall and squat pier to the left, replicated to the right with universal access ramp behind.

Two-bay west side elevation with full-height three-sided canted bay window to the right, extended to the left by a further two-bay two-storey return.

Rear elevation comprises a pair of two-storey gable-ended returns with flat-roofed central section.

Two-bay east side elevation with full-height three-sided canted bay window to the left, extended to the right by a further two-bay two-storey return abutted by a single-storey canted projection having hipped natural slate roof and single-pane timber sash windows.

Setting:
Located on a corner site at the junction of Hawthornden Gardens and Belmont Road surrounded by bitmac parking area and communal lawns. Two-storey purpose-built apartment block to the north. Site enclosed by hedgerow with rendered walls and piers to the west opening onto Hawthornden Gardens.

Roof: Natural slate
RWG: Cast-iron
Walling: Cement stucco
Windows: Timber sash

Historical information

No. 270 Belmont Road, a two-storey symmetrical Italianate Villa located in the townland of Ballycloghan, was constructed in 1878. The second edition Ordnance Survey map (1858) records that the Belmont Road area remained predominantly rural in character in the mid-19th century and that Moyrath was constructed on land leased by Thomas McClure, a local landowner and M.P. who resided at Belmont House (now demolished and replaced with Campbell College). Moyrath stands on the former site of Belfast’s Royal Nurseries which were established in 1869 on 12 acres of land provided by McClure. The Annual Revisions note that a number of gardeners sheds and greenhouses were the first buildings to be constructed on the site (UTD).

The Ulster Town Directories note that Moyrath was originally known as ‘Belavon’ and was constructed as a residence for Hugh Dickson, who was employed as a ‘nurseryman’ and administered the Royal Nurseries ‘by royal appointment’ (UTD). The Annual Revisions set the total rateable value of Belavon at £55. The Annual Revisions Town Plan (1897-1905) depicted the building along its current layout (possessing a pair of two-storey rear returns), suggesting that few major structural changes have been made to the building since the late-19th century. The 1901 census described Belavon as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of 14 rooms and possessed a stable and coach house as its sole outbuildings.

Hugh Dickson continued to reside at Belavon until his death in 1922 at which time the property was leased out as a private dwelling. The Royal Nurseries continued to operate from the site until they were replaced by the new residential streets (Hawthornden Gardens and Hawthornden Drive) that were laid out in the 1930s. Belavon became a private dwelling following Dickson’s death and was occupied by Robert Swain, a yarn and cloth merchant, from 1925. Ownership of the house had passed to a Mr. Robert Barton by the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) which increased the value of the dwelling to £67. The 1943 Ulster Town Directory notes that Belavon was one of many buildings in the area that was temporarily requisitioned by the British Government during the Second World War. Following the conflict Swain continued to reside at Belavon until at least the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) at which time the value of the house stood at £85.

No. 270 Belmont Road had been renamed Moyrath by 1982 when the building was listed. The NIEA HB Records note that the former private dwelling was converted into a number of self-contained apartments in c. 1987. The two-storey block to the north side of the building was constructed at this time (NIEA HB Records).

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/3/5/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/5/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02)
3. PRONI OS/6/3/5/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1919-20)
4. PRONI OS/6/3/5/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938-39)
5. PRONI VAL/12/E/192/N/32B/1 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (1897-1905)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2B-2G – Annual Revisions (1867-1897)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/N/1-9 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930)
8. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/31 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland (1935)
9. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/45 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland (1956-1972)
10. Belfast Street Directories (1877-1943)
11. PRONI Wills Catalogue (30 May 1922)
12. First Survey Record – HB26/12/006 (1982)
13. NIEA HB Records – HB26/12/006

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Detached symmetrical three-bay two-storey stucco-fronted former house, built c.1880, with central advanced entrance bay. This Italianate style villa is a good example of a late nineteenth-century suburban house typical of the Belmont and Sydenham areas. Despite being subdivided into apartments in recent years, with the loss of some original fabric to the interior, it has retained its original external appearance. Originally built for the gardener Hugh Dickson, on the former site of the Royal Nurseries, its architectural features including canted bays, deep overhanging eaves and tall profiled chimneystacks add special character to the building.