1 Lennoxvale

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Italianate style two-storey, hip-roofed, stuccoed detached house built in 1924 to designs by Thomas Callender, but whose appearance with its various bays and Ionic portico, is more akin to a mid to later Victorian residence. The property is set to the E of Malone Road and surrounded by a large garden, which now entered via a driveway to the S shared with the neighbouring property.

The building has been vacant for some time and all of the openings (bar the entrance) are currently boarded over.

The house is roughly square in plan with a slightly lower part two and part single-storey return to the rear. The front elevation faces N and is symmetrical. To the centre of the ground floor is an Ionic portico, with columns set on a tall wall-like bases, and, above the corniced entablature, there is a relatively deep blocking course. The column capitals are partly damaged. Stone steps lead through the portico to the entrance, which consists of a panelled double door with large rectangular fanlight. To the left of the portico is a full-height curved bay with a conical roof and three window openings to each floor. The windows to each floor of the bay share a cill and there is a moulded string course between the ground and first floor levels, as well as a moulded eaves course, both of which encompass much of the other elevations. There is an identical bay to the right of the portico and at first floor level between the bays there is another (larger) window.

To the east elevation consists largely of the main portion of the house with the return to far left. To the main section of the house there are two widely-spaced windows to each floor, with that to the left on both floors broader than that to right. To the east face of the two-storey part of the return there are two windows to the first floor. The ground floor of this face of the return used to be abutted by a single-storey gabled projection [?a conservatory]; this has been demolished, but its outline is still apparent. The single-storey portion of the return cannot be seen from the S as it is obscured by a tall yard wall (which has a single doorway).

To the left on the ground floor of the N façade of the main section of the building there is a single-storey curved bay with three windows and a tall parapet which totally obscures its roof. To the right of the bay is another window, with two more non-identical widely-spaced windows to the first floor. To the two-storey portion of the return there is a large window to the ground floor and a much smaller one to the first floor. To the single-storey section there is one small window. To the south face of the two-storey part of the return there are two small windows to the first floor. The south face of the single-storey section is obscured by plant growth, but internal evidence suggests it is devoid of openings.

The walls are finished in painted lined render, and as well as the aforementioned string course and and eaves course, there is a bevelled base course. The roof is slated and has three tall rendered chimneystacks with wide, bevelled, bases, corbelling, and uniform clay pots. The rainwater goods are cast-iron with square section downspouts.

Internal inspection shows that most of the windows have single or double sash (timber) frames.

There is a small single-storey hip-roofed outbuilding to the rear of the house. The original driveway to the north-west of the house has wrought-iron gates in a somewhat late Art Noveau (almost Art Deco) manner.

Historical information

Despite its mid to later 19th-century appearance, this house was built in 1924 to designs by Thomas Callender. The property was latterly used by Queen’s University.

Primary sources
1 Building Control Office, Belfast City Hall App. 20794

Secondary sources
1 Larmour, Paul, ‘The Architectural Heritage of Malone & Stranmillis’ (Belfast, 1991), p.71

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Located in Belfast's university area an Italianate style two-storey, hip-roofed, stuccoed detached house built in 1924 to designs by Thomas Callender, but whose appearance, with its various bays and Ionic portico, is more akin to a mid to later Victorian residence. Though largely intact externally, important elements of the internal detailing have been removed.