26 Sans Souci Park

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two and a half storey ‘Free Style’ villa of 1910, by James A. Hanna, in red brick with projecting single storey bays to front and typical Edwardian multi pane casement windows throughout. The house is situated to the SE of the curving Sans Souci Park, with its once substantial garden now encroached upon to the S by modern apartments.

The front façade faces S and is asymmetrical. Roughly in the centre of the ground floor is the main entrance, with timber sheeted doorway with decorative hinges. The doorway sidelights and fanlight are made up of small leaded lights and their whole ensemble forms a segmental head to the doorway opening. Painted voussoir moulding to the doorway arch with ‘keystone’. To the left of the entrance, and projecting from the SW corner of the building, is a large four-sided, single storey, flat roofed bay. To each face of the bay is a large mullioned and transomed window, with above lintel course painted. The flat roof has an overhang.

To the immediate right of the entrance is a three (or two and a half) storey bay, with a vaguely Flemish gable. Projecting from the ground floor of this is a large, semicircular, bay window with a flat roof and a large mullioned and transomed window. The flat roof has an overhang as previous bay. Directly above this is a large, first floor, multi pane casement window, with shallow segmental arch head. Directly above this is a smaller Palladian window, also with multi panes (most of the windows have similar frames and segmental heads). There is a narrow fire escape ladder to the right of the first and second floor windows. To the left and centre on the first floor of the front façade are two windows similar to that on the first floor of the bay.

The W (gabled) façade has a small, flat roofed, projecting porch to the left on the ground floor (which does not look original). This has a panelled and glazed door to its N face and a small window to the W face. To the immediate left of the porch is a small flat headed window, with leaded lights, which is set directly below the overlap of the porch roof. To the left of this window is a narrow window, in the same style as first floor front.

Directly above the porch is a very large six light window which lights the stairwell, with painted mullions and transom and many small leaded panes to each light. This window has a flat arch head. To the immediate right of the porch is a small window, with a much larger window directly above to the first floor, and another to the second floor. To the immediate right of these windows is a projecting chimney breast, beyond which is the four sided corner bay (see above).

The left hand edge of the W façade merges with the W façade of a large two storey gabled return. To the ground floor right of this façade is a narrow-ish window, in the style of first floor front. To the centre on the first floor is a small three sided oriel window, glazed to all sides with multi pane frames and casement openings to outer sides. This window supported on two painted brackets.

The E (gabled) façade has a metal framed glazed doorway to the centre of the ground floor ( a later insertion), with a concrete lintel. To the right of this doorway is a large window, as first floor front. To the centre of the first floor is a similar window (only smaller). To the right of this is a large flat headed corner window with a ‘New Art’ corner column, painted lintel, and casement frames, much as before. To the second floor are an off centre pair of square windows with frames as before and painted lintels.

To the right hand (N) side the E façade merges with a high wall which continues N the westwards, enclosing the yard.

The N elevation consists of the rear façade of the main house to the left and the gable of the return to the right. The ground floor of the main rear façade is blank. To the first floor left is the continuation of the corner window (see above). The gable of the return has two windows to the ground floor (much as first floor front but with a projecting course above each) and another similar window to the second (or attic) floor. A chimney stack rises from the gable edge to the immediate right of this window. Fire escape ladder to gable, as front. The E façade of the return has two windows to the first floor (much as before but with that to the left quite small). To the ground floor there is a pair of small windows to the left.

The main roof is gabled and has a slight overhang with exposed rafter ends. All sections of the roof are covered in Bangor blue slate with red clay ridge tiles. At the intersection of the main roof and that of the return (to the rear elevation) there is a flat roofed, slate-clad, dormer with multi pane casement window. To the front elevation there is a small, centrally located flat roofed dormer with single pane frame. Cast iron rw goods.

Attached to the E facing yard wall is a lean-to garage with large timber sheeted door to N face and metal framed windows to S and E faces. To the E of this garage is a large, two level, outbuilding, also in brick, with a slated hipped roof, tall chimney and windows to S. To the N, a large lean-to garage has been attached and to the W façade there is a red brick lean to with metal framed windows. To the S façade there used to be a greenhouse, but this has been demolished.

To the S of the house much building has taken place in recent years with modern apartment blocks for students built on part of what was the front garden. To the W are some mature trees.

Historical information

This house was built in 1910 for Acheson Glendinning, on land which his family acquired in 1905 for £490. It was designed by James A. Hanna, and originally appears to have been called ‘Glendara’, later becoming known as ‘Bran Drum’. For a period during W.W.II. the building served as and National Fire Service Station and in March 1945 was sold to Mr. David Andrews for £3,900. Mr. Andrews sold the house to Queen’s University in October 1964, who converted it to a student hall of residence. It remained as such until recently (mid 1999) but is currently vacant.

Many of the original fire places were replaced, perhaps in the 1930s or 1940s. The side porch was probably added around this time also. The large outbuilding to the east is said to have been originally built as a stable, but this seems odd for a house of 1910, and its chimney stack (if original), suggests it may have had another purpose.

References- Primary sources
1 QUB Estates Office- Title deeds etc. concerning 26 Sans Souci Park, 1905-1964.
2 Linen Hall Library Belfast street directories 1910-1999, (Belfast News-Letter).

Secondary sources
1 S.T. Carleton ‘The growth of South Belfast’ (QUB MA dissertation 1967).
2 Paul Larmour ‘The architectural heritage of Malone and Stranmillis’ (Belfast UAHS 1991), pp.155-156.

( The building seemds to have been brought back into use as a student residence. DB 20/02/2007)

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest

Evaluation

This large two and a half storey ‘Free Style’ villa of 1910, by James A. Hanna is situated to the SE of the curving Sans Souci Park off Belfast's Malone Road. Constructed in red brick it has projecting single storey bays to front and typical Edwardian multi-pane casement windows throughout.