Moat House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Two-storey mid-Victorian red-brick gentleman’s mansion built in 1863-64 to designs by William J Barre, architect. The house, originally divided into apartments in 1938, was refurbished in 2009 and now contains 10 apartments. It is located on a level site to the west of the Old Holywood Road and north of two sites of archaeological interest: DOW 00502, a Motte and DOW 00503, a medieval graveyard. The original
setting of the house has been altered by the erection of a small residential development, dating from the 1980s.

The house is built of red-brick in Flemish bond with sandstone and blue brick detailing, a sandstone porte-cochère, a mix of round-arched and segmental-arched window openings with 1/1 panes to timber sliding sash windows and segmental-arched brick soldier course lintols, curved double height bay window to west, single-storey canted bay window to south and oriel window to east. Natural slate hipped and pitched roof with interlocking ridge tiles to main house, rolled lead hips and crested ridge tiles to two-storey wing to east, decorative finial to double height bay. Tall red-brick shouldered chimney stacks with sandstone detailing, over-hanging cornice with projecting headers and plain terracotta pots to east, south and west. Decorative timber fascia with applied nailhead detail to north gable, ogee gutters supported via projecting stone cornice on scrolled brackets and discharing to cast-metal downpipes.

The principal elevation faces north. It comprises a single storey wing (added 2009) to east with hipped natural slate roof, red-brick walls and three segmental-arched window openings with 1/1 panes to timber sliding sash windows. This abuts a two-storey three-bay section (original) with sandstone plinth having three segmental-arched window openings with 2/2 panes to timber sliding sash windows to ground and first floor, continuous moulded stone cill course to each floor which turns corner. Canted brickwork corner from cill to eaves, sandstone course below impost level to arched windows on each floor. This, in turn, abuts a two-storey two-bay section with details as before, attached to two-storey section with gabled end to east, gable to north and hipped roof to west. Windows to this section are sliding sash with 1/1 panes, with ovolo moulded bricks to reveals. It features a sandstone porte-cochère to west end with three round-arched arcaded openings having foliated capitals to square-section columns, with the outer two columns being significantly larger. Moulded detail to arcade with blocked sandstone above rising to acanthus leaf cornice with open stone parapet punctuated with arches and circular indents and topped with corniced coping. Within porte-cochère, pilasters to either end with square-section columns to centre; single step to recessed tiled porch with two blind arches to west and round-arched opening to east containing timber panelled entrance door with fanlight over. Three segmental-arched windows to ground floor east of porte-cochère divided by engaged columns with foliated capitals to shafts. Two segmental-arched window openings to first floor. Tri-partite window above porte-cochère has three round-arched window openings divided by paired engaged Corinthian columns. Continuous sandstone hood moulding with embossed stops. Quatre-foil window with sandstone surround to apex of gable. Decorated bargeboard to gable resting on sandstone kneeler supported by two sandstone brackets. Wall details as before.

East elevation comprises of a projecting single storey wing (built 2009) to north with rendered wall, corbelled brick cornice and hipped natural slate roof. Beyond this, the building steps back to a two-storey eight-bay section (three bays to south, added later) with segmental-arched window openings, 2/2 panes to timber sliding sash windows and brick dentilled eaves as before. Glazed oriel window to three bays at end of original building with cast-iron circular posts and leaded light windows with arched central light. Below the glazed oriel is a multi-paned glazed double door flanked by two window openings.

South elevation comprises two-storey two-bay return (added later) with two segmental-arched windows to first floor level. Hipped roof and dentilled detail to corbelled brick eaves. Stepping back to two-storey rendered section with two square-headed casement windows to first floor and square-headed opening forming recessed porch to timber door to ground floor, next to tri-partite square-headed window with timber sliding sash windows. Rendered section abutting two-storey six-bay block (original) but with single storey hipped return (added later) to ground floor east. Canted bay window to ground floor in sandstone with engaged Corinthian columns and anthemion floriate mouldings to cornice of parapet roof. Continuous moulded stone cill course to ground and first floor with upper string course and stone bands at impost level. Two round-arched window openings to first floor above canted bay with hood moulding and embossed stops, quatre-foil window in stone surround to apex of gable. Decorated bargeboards to gable. Two segmental-arched window openings to ground and first floor west (lower west formely used as door, with nosed stone steps and plinth wall). Wall details as before with cornice supported on stone brackets. All windows 1/1 panes to timber sliding sash. West elevation of single storey return has hipped roof, square-headed door opening with glazed sidelights and timber glazed door, two segmental-arched window openings to south with 2/2 panes to timber sliding sash windows.

West elevation comprises double-height round window bay with four window openings to both ground and first floor level. Windows diminish in size on upper floor. Two segmental-arched window openings to north of bay window. All details as before. Two-storey three-bay recessed section with three round-arched window openings to ground and first floor levels. Eaves level comprises ogee-gutter carried on projecting stone cornice with sandstone brackets. Wall details as before. North elevation of projecting section has sandstone niche with moulded architrave at ground floor level, continuous stone cill, elongated corbel table with sandstone brackets and brick arches, sandstone bands as before and quatre-foil window opening with sandstone surround, surrounded by decorative blue brick pointed Gothic arch flush with wall. Wall rising in two angled stages to large sandstone coping.
Entrance door screen with side lights, fanlight and panelled timber entrance door to west elevation of single storey wing (added 2009).

Setting:
Moat House, a mid-Victorian mansion house built in 1863-64 to designs by William J Barre, architect is located on a level site to the west of the Old Holywood Road and north of two sites of archaeological interest: DOW 00502, a Motte and DOW 00503, a medieval graveyard. The original setting of the house has been altered by the development of small residential bungalows to the north, built in the 1980s. A new access road runs across the length of the north elevation.

Materials:
Roof : Natural slate
RWGs: Cast metal
Walls : Red Brick with blue brick and sandstone dressings
Windows : Timber sliding sash.

Historical information

No. 8 Motelands, also known as Moat House, a two-storey red-brick gentleman’s mansion located in the townland of Ballymaghan, was constructed in 1863-64 to designs by W. J. Barre. The second edition Ordnance Survey map records that the townland remained predominantly rural in character during the mid-19th century. The map shows that the Circular Road had been laid out by 1858 but that few buildings had been developed in the area. With the swift expansion of Belfast’s industries and population in the latter half of the 19th century a number of new suburbs were established for the city’s politicians, merchants and professionals in the eastern townlands of Ballyhackamore, Strandtown and Ballymisert.

Moat House was constructed in 1863-64 and was the second house to be constructed on the current site, replacing a previous dwelling that had been built pre-1834. The original house was constructed within a circular fort believed to date from the 13th century. The Archaeological Survey of Co. Down records that the mound in the townland of Ballymaghan may have been the Norman motte and bailey castle of ‘Ballymichgan’ which was in King Henry III’s possession in 1221. In addition, archaeological traces of an ancient church have been found in the mound along with a coffin lid dating from the 13th century (Archaeological Survey, pp 186-190). An unknown publication included in the NIEA HB Records notes that the site continued to be utilised as a graveyard until a relatively recent date and that medieval coinage had also been unearthed from the mound (NIEA HB Records).

The original house constructed within the mound had been constructed prior to 1834. In that year the dwelling was recorded on the first edition Ordnance Survey map which depicted it as an irregular-shaped building captioned ‘Moat House.’ Griffith’s Valuation (1860) noted that the original house possessed a gate lodge on the Old Holywood Road and was valued at £25. The house was leased to a Mr. John L. Bell by Thomas McClure, a local magistrate and landowner who resided at Belmont House. Bell had vacated the site by 1863 when the Moat House and its land was leased for a period of 10,000 years by McClure to Thomas Valentine, managing director in the Northern Spinning and Weaving Co. Valentine had the former house on the site demolished and contracted William J. Barre to construct a new residence to the north-east of the original dwelling.

William Joseph Barre (c. 1826-1867) was born in Newry and became one of Belfast’s most prolific (if short-lived) architects. Barre moved to Belfast after winning the competition to design the Ulster Hall in 1859 and designed some of the city’s most impressive Victorian edifices including Belmont Presbyterian Church (1860-61), University Road Methodist Church (1864-65), the Provincial Bank on Royal Avenue (1864-69), Bryson House on Bedford Street (1865-67) and the Albert Memorial Clock Tower (1865-69). Barre died in 1867 of an illness having made a brief but lasting mark upon the architectural landscape of Belfast (DIA). Larmour described Moat House as ‘Barre’s most colourful house, in glowing red brick with sandstone dressings and blue stone bands … bold shapes and vigorous detail especially to the chimneys and a very fine series of large sandstone capitals to the entrance loggia’ (Larmour, p. 24).

Moat House was constructed between 1863 and 1864 and, upon its completion, was valued at £220 by the Annual Revisions. The Belfast Revaluation (1900) records that the total cost of construction was £5,083 and included a plan of the building which depicted it along its current layout suggesting that few structural changes have been made to the building since the mid-19th century (the single-storey red-brick extension located to the south side of the house was added in the late-20th/early-21st centuries). Valentine continued to reside at Moat House until 1889 when the house was occupied by Wesley Watson, a local linen manufacturer who was a partner in McCrum, Watson & Co. (UTD). At the turn of the 20th century Moat House passed to Sir. Robert McConnell, a local magistrate and manager of R. J. McConnell & Co., auctioneers, valuers and estate agents (UTD). The 1901 census described Moat House as a 1st class dwelling which consisted of 25 rooms and possessed extensive outbuildings that included two stables, two coach houses, a cow house, boiling house and a laundry. The third edition Ordnance Survey map (1901-02) records that the house possessed a walled garden to the southeast side (now replaced with a housing development).

McConnell had vacated Moat House by 1910 when Frank Workman, managing director of Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. (the second largest shipbuilder in Belfast) was recorded as occupant. The Workman family continued to reside at Moat House until 1930 when they found it to be unmanageable as a single dwelling. Lynch states that the Workman family suffered extreme economic difficulties as a result of the 1929 Wall Street Crash and that Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd. Was heavily hit by the subsequent international depression. In 1930 Workman & Clark announced they would be closing the shipyard (Lynch). The shipyard did not close until 1935, however the announcement to close coincided with the first auction of Moat House in 1930. In that year the auction leaflet described the building in the following terms: ‘contains stately hall, drawing room, dining room, morning room, library and billiard room, new conservatory communicating with residence … there is most commodious stabling.’ Following a second auction (carried out in 1937) ownership of the building passed to Captain David C. Lindsay (formerly of Quarry House – see HB26/12/049) who converted the former private dwelling into six residential flats in 1938. Under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) the total value of the building was increased to £257. The NIEA HB Records note that the building was further subdivided into ten apartments in the 1960s. It was at that time that Moat House’s grounds were sold off for the construction of the housing developments of Motelands and Finchley Park (NIEA HB Records).

Moat House was listed in 1986. The NIEA HB Records note that the building underwent a renovation in c. 1989 which included the restoration of its roof. A more extensive renovation of Moat House was undertaken in 2009 which involved the refurbishment of all sliding sash windows, the installation of cast iron rainwater goods, the restoration of its chimneys, the repointing of its brickwork and stonework and the replacement of the interior fireplaces (NIEA HB Records). Field inspection of the site carried out as part of the Second Survey has found that Moat House continues to be subdivided into a number of self-contained apartments.

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/3/5/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1834)
2. PRONI OS/6/3/5/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858)
3. PRONI OS/6/3/5/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02)
4. PRONI OS/6/3/5/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1919-20)
5. PRONI VAL/2/B/3/18C – Griffith’s Valuation (1860)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2A-2H - Annual Revisions (1863-1897)
7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/N/1-9 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930)
8. PRONI VAL/7/B/13/2 – Belfast Revaluation (1900)
9. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/20 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1935)
10. PRONI D2964/CB/315 – Moat House Auction Leaflet (1930)
11. Belfast Street Directories (1852-1943)
12. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
13. First Survey Record – HB26/12/026 (1984)
14. First Survey Image – HB26/12/026 (No Date)
15. NIEA HB Records – HB26/12/026 (includes unknown publication detailing early history of Moat House)

Secondary Sources
1. ‘An Archaeological Survey of Co. Down’ Belfast: H.M.S.O., 1966.
2. Brett, C. E. B., ‘Buildings of Belfast: 1700-1914’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1985.
3. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987.
4. Lynch, J., ‘Forgotten shipbuilders of Belfast: Workman, Clark 1880-1935’ Belfast: Friar’s Bush, 2004.
5. Rankin, K., ‘The linen houses of County Antrim and North County Down’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2012.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Well-proportioned and detailed two-storey mid-Victorian red-brick mansion built in 1863-64 for Thomas Valentine, of the Northern Spinning and Weaving Co., to designs by William J Barre, architect. This is not the first house built on the site; the original predates 1834 and was formed within a circular fort, or mound (DOW00502), believed to date from the 13th century, hence the name 'Moat House'.
The current house, initially sub-divided into apartments in 1938, was extensively refurbished in 2009, when outhouses were demolished to make way for both single and two storey extensions. Although the quality of the original setting is somewhat diminished by the development of residential bungalows within its grounds, the house retains its architectural quality with good proportions and impressive style. Of particular note the ornate porte-cochère and various individual stone and blue-brick dressings around the windows, eaves and chimneys lift the house well above the ordinary. Inside, despite some modification to the original plan form, numerous beautifully crafted details survive inside and any new insertions are sensitively integrated. Historically, in addition to the aforementioned archaeological references, the connection with Workman, Clark & Co. Ltd., the second largest ship building firm in Northern Ireland, make this building a unique part of the story of East Belfast's development and growth.