Ardleevan

The Department's description

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

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

Evaluation

A two-storey plus attic Arts and Crafts style house of the early 20th Century by Blackwood and Jury Architects, located off a long private road to the E of Upper Malone Road in South Belfast. The house was divided into two separate dwellings between 1963 and 1988, with No. 178 to the SW and No.180 to the NE. The villa is set in expansive grounds with the main SE elevation taking full advantage of sweeping views across the formal gardens and beyond to the Lagan Valley. The asymmetry of plan form with rosemary tiled sweeping roofs, tall brick chimneys, and eclectic detailing are typical of the genre and are extant in this example, as well as internal historic character being retained such as the original simply detailed staircase and original fireplaces. The footprint of no. 180 has been altered with the removal of the original motor house and chauffeur’s quarters which have been replaced by a two-storey extension in the late 20th Century, the latter lacking the rich design of the original house. Whilst there have been extensions and alterations in connection with the division into two dwellings, there has been a judicious separation of ownerships without obvious erection of boundaries and both homes are intrinsically part of the original design intent of Percy Jury's Ardleevan. Externally, the landscaping and delineation of boundary treatments have been understated and do not impact upon the setting.

‘Ardleevan’ was constructed for Major Charles Grimshaw Duffin, a descendant of the Barbour and Riddel families and was built within the former demesne of Lismoyne House, a mansion house pre-dating the first edition OS map of 1832-3. ‘Ardleevan’ was the second dwelling to be added to the NW of the demesne, over thirty years later. From the 1930s onwards, development of this area of the former demesne accelerated and today ‘Ardleevan’ sits at the edge of a grouping of around forty substantial houses situated in their own grounds.
The building retains for the most part, the original fabric and detailing that led to its historic appraisal as one of Percy Jury’s most noteworthy domestic designs. The house is enhanced by the expansive elevated mature setting with terraced lawns to the garden front with an early example of a swimming pool, pergola, sundial and water features in the immediate setting.