Red Hall

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Relatively plain substantial 2½ storey late Victorian gabled red brick suburban dwelling of 1898 with canted bays and single / 1½ storey former outbuilding section to rear. The property is set on the east side of Circular Road and surrounded by a large garden with tarmac-covered parking area to front.

The front elevation faces W and is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is the main entrance, which consists of a large panelled timber double door with plain sidelights and three pane elliptical fanlight. This ensemble is set within a shallow moulded brick archivolt topped with an elliptical arched (brick) label moulding with decorative moulded stops. The doorway is reached via a short flight of stone flagged steps with a recent metal handrail to the S side. There is a modern projecting light to each side of the doorway.

To either side of the entrance is a large two storey canted bay with hipped slated roof. To each face of each floor of each bay there are three plain sash windows with flat arches. The lintel of each is of red sandstone and has a shaped underside. The lintels continue as a course around much of the rest of the building. Immediately above the ground floor lintel level is a narrow moulded string course and (on the bays) between this and the sills of the first floor windows are small panels with decorative mouldings. Above the first floor lintels each bay has a projecting eaves course which also continues around much of the rest of the building. Above the roof level of the bays there is a narrow moulded stringcourse which continues around much of the rest of the building also, forming a sill course for the attic level windows to the N and S gables.

Directly above the main entrance there is a first floor window as those to the bays (most of the windows to the house are similar to this but of various size). Directly above this is a similar but much small window set with a gabled half-dormer with moulded brick eaves course and decorative fire clay finial. Kneelers to gable.

The S elevation consists of the 2½ storey S gable of the house which (to E) merges with a smaller, lower three storey flat roofed section. To the E this section merges with a tall yard wall which to E again merges with the S gable of the single to 1½ storey former outbuilding.

On the ground floor of the main gable there is a window just to the left of centre with another in the same position to the first floor. To the right hand side of the gable is a two storey bay, as front. To attic level of the gable there are two symmetrically positioned windows, smaller than those to lower floors. The gable is traversed by the various string courses and bands mentioned above and has a thick verge course in brick with a fire clay finial to the gable apex.

To the ground floor of the lower three storey flat roofed section there is a recent plain sheeted door to left and a small window to right. To the first floor there is a modern fire escape doorway, with another to the second floor. These both lead on to a metal ‘spiral’ fire escape. This section is topped with a brick eves course and short brick parapet with plain coping.

The yard wall to the right of this contains a plain timber sheeted door. Further to the right the yard wall merges with the former outbuilding. The outbuilding is flat roofed to its western side, with the large portion to the E gabled. On the S elevation of the flat roofed portion there is a small window, whilst to the S facing gable of the larger portion there is a large mainly glazed modern door screen. The door screen is partly surrounded by a large expanse of plain painted render, whilst the small window (on the flat roofed portion) is entirely surrounded by render. Both portions of render are linked. To the upper level of the gable is a window with modern frame.

The N elevation repeats the same arrangement of the S elevation, but not in detail. To the main gable of the house there are two windows to the left and centre. To the first floor there is a window to left and a fire escape door to centre-right. To the attic level is a similar arrangement but with the window much smaller. The doorways lead on to a fire escape similar to that to S. The various bands and string course which traverse the front and the S gable also appear on this gable.

To the three storey flat roofed section to E (left) of this there is a window to left on the ground floor with a smaller one to right on both the first and second floors.

To east of this on the flat roofed section of the former outbuilding there are three unevenly spaced windows, that to left slightly narrower than the other two. Projecting from the ground floor of the gable of the larger portion of the former outbuilding is a small lean-to with two small windows to its N face (with plain single light frames and concrete lintels as opposed to sandstone) and a timber sheeted door to the E face with some slate cladding above. To immediate left of the lean-to (on ground floor of the gable of the former outbuilding) is a window with modern frame. There is a similar window to the upper level of the gable.

The rear of the main portion of the house (i.e. the E elevation of the three storey flat roofed section) could not be seen in its entirety. The ground floor level only appears to be exposed on the left hand side, with the right hand side abutted the a single storey ‘link’ which leads through to the outbuilding. Only part of this link appears to be original (see below). To the first floor there appears to be a window to far left then a much larger central (landing) window with mullioned and transomed frame and stained glass. To right of this are two further windows, much as that to far left but of differing size. This arrangement is repeated to the first floor, though all of the windows may be marginally shorter. There is a broad sandstone course at second floor level (a continuation of one of the courses mentioned above).

The small link mentioned above may have been broadened at some point in recent years for its S face (which faces into the small yard area) is in recent brick and contains a small window with modern frame. To the yard (W) facing elevation of the flat roofed portion of the former outbuilding there is a timber sheeted sliding door to left and a small window with modern frame to right.

To the rear (E) elevation of the larger (gabled) portion of the former outbuilding there is a window with modern frame to left. Rough to the centre there is a doorway with modern roller shutter. To the immediate right of this is a relatively small gabled extension with slated roof and brick façade. There is a doorway to the S face of this but the other faces are blank. To the immediate right of the extension (on main elevation) there is a window as that to left.

The main gabled roof of the house is slated with two relatively large Velux windows to front. To the ridge there are ‘saw tooth’ fire clay ridge tiles with finials to each end. There are two centrally positioned brick chimney stacks with plain coping and plain uniform pots [these stacks are probably replacements- they look too plain]. There is another narrower pot-less stack close to the SE corner of the main roof (where it meets the flat roof of the three storey section). The roof of the three storey section could not be seen.

The gabled portion of the former outbuilding is slated and has a centrally positioned brick chimney stack with a dentilled course and two uniform pots. To the immediate S of this stack there is a modern boiler flue. Close to the NW corner of the roof there is a relatively recent looking flat roofed dormer with modern window. To far right of this there is a skylight (which looks like cast iron), with another to the rear (E) side of the roof. The flat roof of the single storey section is felted.

The rw goods appear to be mainly cast iron.

The property is surrounded to S, and W by a large garden. Part of the garden to the S has been made into a (relatively) small car parking area and is covered in tarmac. There is a smaller tarmac-covered area to the immediate S of the building. The driveway is to the NW and the garden is enclosed to the W (Circular Road) side by a recent plain timber fence with matching timber gates.

To the immediate N of the garden (and close to the house itself) is a row of c.1960s houses, with similar houses to the E (the S side of Strathearn Park. The grounds of a another c.1960s lie to the S with modern densely packed late 1990s houses to the SE.

Historical information

‘Bernagh’ was built in 1898-99 by Joseph Malcomson Greeves on land originally acquired in 1890 by his relative, James Malcomson. Greeves was director of the firm of J & T.M. Greeves Ltd, Flax Spinners, Belfast, founded in partnership by his grandfather and great uncle*. The Greeves family were originally from the townland of Bernagh, near Dungannon, Co Tyrone- hence the name of Joseph’s new house.

Joseph and his American wife, Mary Margretta Gribbon, had five children, the youngest of whom, Arthur, was born in 1895. Though Arthur Greeves grew up just across the road from ‘Little Lea’, the family home of C.S. (‘Jack’) Lewis, Arthur’s natural shyness and poor health meant that their paths did not cross in childhood, their first proper meeting occurring in 1914 when Lewis visited a convalescing Arthur and immediately struck up a close friendship with him.

This friendship was to prove lasting, and after the selling of Little Lea following the death his father Albert in 1929, Lewis, when in Ireland, was to find a home at Bernagh or wherever Arthur was living. It was during a two-week stay at Bernagh in August 1932 that Lewis wrote his first full length prose work ‘The Pilgrim’s Regress’, largely dealing with his conversion to Christianity. He dedicated the book to Greeves, telling him in March 1932 that ‘it is yours by every right- written in your house, read to you as it was written’.

After Arthur’s mother died in 1949 the Greeves family sold Bernagh to Mr Robert McCrea [?who was married to one of Arthur’s relations- a sister or niece?]. Mr McCrea, who renamed the building ‘Red Hall’, sold much of the ground to the north and west of the house for development in 1957 (ground originally part of James Malcomson’s original purchase of 1890), with Strathearn Park built on the site by the mid 1960s. In 1961 Red Hall itself was sold by Mr McCrea to Mr Bryan Dennis Hall, who in 1978 sold it the Department of Health & Social Services. Latterly the building was used as a hostel for people with learning difficulties.

After 1949, Arthur Greeves went to live at ‘Silver Hill’, a cottage in Crawfordsburn. He died in 1966.

*The firm, which owned the Conway Mill and the Forth River Mills remained in the family until 1961 when it was acquired by Herdmans Ltd of Sion Mills.

Primary sources
1 PRONI D.592, D.593, D.4007 Greeves Papers
2 PRONI OS/6/3/4/2 OS map, Co Down sheet 4, 1858-60
3 PRONI D.3997 Papers of the firm of J & T.M. Greeves Ltd 1858-1960
4 Summary of deeds relating to Red Hall and lands surrounding, 1890-1978 [In possession of the present owners.]
5 PRONI OS/6/3/4/3 OS map, Co Down sheet 4, 1902
6 Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory (Belfast News-Letter, 1900- )
7 PRONI OS/8/30/5/51 OS town plan of Belfast, sheet 51, 1904
8 PRONI OS/6/3/4/4 OS map, Co Down sheet 4, 1921
9 PRONI OS/6/3/4/5 OS map, Co Down sheet 4, 1931
10 PRONI OS/6/3/4/7 OS map, Co Down sheet 4, 1938
11 EHS OS sheet 130-11, c.1966

Secondary sources
1 Walter Hooper ed., ‘They stand together’ [The letters of C.S. Lewis and Arthur Greeves] (1979)
2 Roger Lancelyn Green & Walter Hooper, ‘C.S. Lewis- A biography’ (Glasgow, 1979)
3 William Griffin, ‘C.S. Lewis- The authentic voice’ (Lion Publishing, 1988)
4 A.N. Wilson, ‘C.S. Lewis- A biography’ (London, 1990)
5 David Bleakley, ‘C.S. Lewis- At home in Ireland’ (Strandtown Press, 1998)
6 Ronald W. Bresland, ‘The backward glance- C.S. Lewis and Ireland’ (QUB, 1999)
7 Walter Hooper ed., ‘C.S. Lewis collected letters volume 1: Family letters 1905-31 (London, 2000)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Relatively plain substantial 2½ storey late Victorian gabled red brick suburban dwelling of 1898 with canted bays and single storey former outbuilding section to rear.