Chilworth Buildings

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An end-terrace single-bay three-storey red brick Arts and Crafts house, built c.1893, now divided into flats. The building is rectangular on plan with projecting gabled bay to north elevation. The east elevation is abutted by a two-storey red brick return with external metal staircase leading to first floor entrance.

The roof is pitched natural slate with angled terracotta ridge tiles, painted timber fascia supporting uPVC rainwater goods; bargeboards to gables with timber finial supported by cavetto timber eaves brackets resting on moulded brick stringcourse. Red brick wall-head chimneystack rising from east gable having four terracotta pots. Walling is red brick in English garden wall bond over offset plinth with two projecting brick string courses; engaged chamfered brick shafts flank first floor windows. Applied Tudor-style timber latticework gable apex to north and west elevations. Windows are generally segmental-headed tripartite 1/1 timber sashes with horns with stone cills, gauged brick surrounds and brick voussoirs; second floor set in a timber architrave. First floor windows are set in a quadripartite configuration (unless otherwise stated). Ground floor windows have wire-mesh screens to lower glass panes.

The north elevation consists of a full-height projecting gabled bay to the left side, flanked to west by a recessed section, which is plainly detailed with the exception of a single window to extreme right at each floor. The projecting bay has a group of windows (as described above) to each floor; the ground floor has a group of three windows, with a fourth set slightly apart to the right. The main entrance is located to the west cheek of the projecting bay, comprising an original six-panelled timber door with plain transom light and cast-iron door furniture, in a gauged brick surround with sandstone lintel.

The east elevation is abutted by the lower two-storey return, which is plainly detailed with irregularly arranged sliding sash windows arranged singly and in groups of three, with a twentieth-century fire escape insertion accessed by a metal fire escape on a brick base (which forms the street boundary). The exposed section of the main elevation has a single window to ground and first floor.

The south elevation is abutted by the adjoining building.

The west elevation is gabled, and has a group of windows to each floor, detailed as above.

Setting:
Occupying a prominent location in Stranmillis Conservation Area, at the junction of Stranmillis Road and Stranmillis Street, directly opposite St Bartholomew's Church of Ireland and in close proximity to the Ulster Museum and Queens University. It is the end terrace of a group (No.104 to No.128) and forms part of a prominent complex spanning the full block between Stranmillis Street and Ridgeway Street. The building is set back slightly from the street, bounded by low red brick boundary wall and mature hedge. The ground falls steeply away to east and the ground floor of the return is abutted by a later garage extension. To the rear of the property is an alley way that spans the terrace row that connects Stranmillis Street to Ridgeway Street.

Roof: Natural slate
RWG: uPVC
Walling: Red brick
Windows: Timber sash

Historical information

First appearing on the third edition OS map (1901), No.104 Stranmillis Road is the northern-most property of a cohesive residential terrace of thirteen houses designed c.1893 by architect Samuel Patrick Close. Known as the Chilworth Buildings, the terrace was built for McCaw, Stevenson and Orr Ltd, a printing company established c.1873 and originally based on Linenhall Street before moving to Loopbridge Mill on the Castlereagh Road c.1893.

The valuation revisions show that, initially, the houses were numbered 1-13 from north to south, and were renumbered as nos.94-118 in the early 20th century, then 104-128 in the 1950s. This is indicative of the speculative and incremental nature of development in the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The valuation revisions of 1882-1897 show that the first occupant was an Arthur Stringer. The property at this was valued at £35, while the remaining twelve houses were valued at £25. By 1897 the valuation was £32, dropping to £27 in 1905. The house at this time was occupied by William Heaney. By 1908 the house was valued at £29 and was occupied by James Riordan, an agent for the National Cash Registry Co. The street directories record that, in 1943, the Forster School of Music was using the property, although by 1960 it had returned to residential use.

A planning application, lodged 15 June 1988, was approved to convert the house into two number ground floor flats and one number first floor maisonette.

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/2 Second Edition OS map (1823)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 Third Edition OS map (1901)
3. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/14 General Valuation of Ireland – Annual Revisions (1882-1897)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/27 General Valuation of Ireland – Annual Revisions (1897-1905)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/42 General Valuation of Ireland – Annual Revisions (1906-1915)
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/14 General Valuation of Ireland – Annual Revisions (1916-1930)
7. PRONI Street Directories 1901-1992
8. Planning reference Z/1988/0615

Secondary Sources

1. Larmour, Paul ‘The Architectural Heritage of Malone and Stranmillis’ Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1991

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

104 Stranmillis Road, part of Chilworth Buildings, a prominent unified row of thirteen residential buildings, built in the late nineteenth century to designs by Belfast architect Samuel Patrick Close in an Arts and Crafts style. The houses, with red brick ground and first floors and half timbered attic storey, were built by McCaw, Stevenson & Orr (1876-1990), better known as a prominent firm of printers, publishers and stationers, and thus representing the speculative nature of the growth of south Belfast around the turn of the nineteenth century. Although the only externally intact example in the row, like most of the terrace, the house has been subdivided internally. Located within the Stranmillis Conservation Area, to which the whole terrace contribute positively, the house is not considered to be of special interest.