96 Malone Road ('Montpellier')

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial, mildly Italianate, two storey hipped roof suburban residence of 1875-76, with stucco façade, canted bays, overhanging bracketed verge and decorative entrance surround. The property is set on a slight rise on the E side of the Malone Road, with further properties to its immediate rear.

The front (W) elevation is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is the main entrance. This consists of an original looking timber panelled door with glazed semicircular-headed upper panels. The left upper panel has stained glass with plain glazing to that to right. There are sidelights with panelled aprons and a three-light fanlight. The left-hand sidelight and fanlight have stained glass whilst the right-hand has clear glazing. The doorway is surrounded by plain pilaster jambs with decorative curved brackets with support a shallow cornice hood.

To the left of the entrance is a single storey canted bay with a plain sash window to each face, cill course and, above a string course, parapet and blocking course. There is an identical bay to right of the entrance. To the first floor there are three segmental-headed sash windows with simple heeled surrounds and cill course. The lower half of the front elevation (apart from the bays) is finished in painted rusticated render with the upper half is plain painted render. The bays are also in plain render and to the base there is a bevelled plinth. The N and S elevations are finished in similar form with the rear elevation in red brick.

The N elevation is longer than that to front as it includes the N face of a full height rear return (which merges completely into the façade of the main section of the house). To the ground floor left there is a small sash window, with two much large sash windows to right. To the first floor there are three windows, as first floor front. To the far left the façade merges into a high rendered wall with large segmental-arched carriage entrance. This entrance has panelled pilaster jambs, a moulded archivolt with decorative keystone, (which resembles one of the water gods from the Custom House in Dublin), and a timber sheeted double door

The S elevation is shorter than that to N. To left on the ground floor is a large but shallow single storey square bay with large tripartite sash window. The mullions of the window have moulded ½ column pilasters. Above the window there is a narrow string course with cornice and blocking course above. To the right of the bay is a plain sash window. To the first floor are two windows, as first floor front, resting on a cill course. Set at an intermediate level to the far right is a small plain sash window. To the far right the façade merges with a high rendered wall with broad segmental-headed open carriage arch.

To the left side of the rear elevation is a projecting full height bay. To the ground floor of this are two small windows with recent frames. To right of these the bay merges into a small single storey section which leans-to the main section of the house. This lean-to has a plain sash window to its E face, with security bars over. To the first floor of the main bay is a plain sash window. To the first floor directly above the lean-to (i.e. to right of the bay) there is a large semicircular-headed stairwell window with sash frame with margin panes.

To the right side of the rear elevation there projects the full height (three level) gabled return. To the ground floor on the S face of the return there is a relatively large kitchen window with steel frame (this window has probably been enlarged at some point). To the first floor left there is a narrow sash window with Georgian-like panes (4/4). To the first floor right of the (E facing) gable of the return there is another sash window, as previous. To the second floor of the gable are two small four pane windows. Between the return and the lean-to (on the ground floor of the main section of the house), there is a partly glazed door.

The rear elevation is in brick, which is painted at ground floor level. A large section of brick to the upper floors of the gable of the return is much lighter in tone than the rest of the brick, almost as if this section had been replaced at some stage. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the small second floor windows (which the lighter area of brick impinge upon) have concrete lintels- as if their openings had been reconstructed.

The main section of the house has a (relatively steeply pitched) hipped roof which has a bracketed overhang. All sections of the roof are slated. There are two centrally located tall rendered chimneystacks, each with a string course, cornice course and four octagonal pots. There is a narrow brick chimneystack to the return gable, with one cylindrical pot. Cast iron rw goods.

Small garden to front of house with much larger garden to S. Shared driveway to N. To the rear there is a relatively large enclosed yard with a large two storey former outbuilding to rear. Only part of the ground floor of this outbuilding belongs to no.96, the rest of it is divided into apartments (no.98).

Historical information

This house was built in 1875-76. It stands on a parcel of land which previously belonged to the property just to the east, ‘Montpellier’, (present no.100) a house erected in c.1840 by Belfast merchant, Thomas Gilmore, on land he acquired from Rev. George MacCartney-Black in 1836. Gilmore died in 1870 and the lot was sold to Samuel Gibson, a Belfast ‘druggist and grocer’, who developed it in 1875-76 by building this house (which incidentally also became known as ‘Montpellier’), ‘Carlton House’ to the north, (the present nos.92 and 94), and, in 1878, a large villa to the south, where he himself was to reside (now demolished).

The original resident of no.96 may have been an R.C. Grubb [?Gribb] who is recorded in an entry in a revaluation notebook in 1876, his stay must have been short-lived, however, for a ‘pawnbroker and auctioneer’ named William Hunter is listed as resident in the 1877 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster directory’. Hunter remained there until c.1885 and was followed by a William Ferris and then in c.1898 by a Robert O. Cunningham MD, ‘Professor of Natural History at Queen’s College’. The property remains a private dwelling.

The outbuilding complex to the rear of the house appears to have been originally split between this property, no.100 to the east, and no.102 to the south (now demolished). This complex appears- in the 1890s at least- appears to have contained living quarters which appear to have belonged to no.100. In 1912 a storey was added to the complex creating a much larger property, appropriately named ‘The Nook’. In 1968 The Nook was split into two separate properties, one to each floor.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/2B/1/2a Second valuation, Shankill parish, 1860
2 PRONI VAL/12B/5/6a Annual (valuation) revision book, 1864-65
3 PRONI VAL/12B/5/6b Annual (valuation) revision book, 1866-79
4 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster directory, 1870-
5 PRONI VAL/12B/5/6c Annual (valuation) revision book, 1879-85
6 PRONI VAL/12B/5/6d Annual (valuation) revision book, 1885-93
7 PRONI VAL/12B/5/63 Annual (valuation) revision book, 1894-97
8 PRONI VAL/12E/192c/57/3 Valuation town plan of Belfast, sh 57, 1894-95

Secondary sources
1 Paul Larmour, ‘The architectural heritage of Malone and Stranmillis’ (Belfast 1994)
2 Information supplied by Professor Alun Evans

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Substantial, mildly Italianate, two storey hipped roof suburban residence of 1875-76, with stucco façade, canted bays, overhanging bracketed verge and decorative entrance surround.