51 MALONE ROAD

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Mid terrace four-storey two-bay red brick late Victorian town house, built 1886-87 to designs by William Eaton, architect. Located at north end of Malone Road, Belfast, No.51 is one of terrace of nine similar houses (HB26.28.059A-G & I inclusive) running between Malone Avenue and Eglantine Avenue. Rectangular on plan as a group on N-S axis with ends gabled; they form one of the most impressive terraces within Malone Road Conservation Area, each having full-height bowed bay with conical slate roof. Three-storey gabled return built at half-landing level to rear (W) on left side. Return abutted by single storey mono-pitched appendage that extends almost full length of yard (possibly former out-building). Parallel to return and mono-pitch, modern glazed ‘lantern’ encloses remainder of yard at ground floor level. Currently used as commercial offices and yoga studio.

Natural slate roof with bands of fish-scale slates to bowed bay and red terracotta ridge tiles and finials to main building; black clay ridge tiles to return. Large red brick chimney centred on ridge to main roof with simple corbelled brick coursing to cap and eight circular yellow clay pots. Cast iron gutter supported on scrolled terracotta brackets and projecting eaves course to front (E); bowed bay rises beyond main eaves, highlighted by cornice of classical ornamentation in stuccowork below the gutter.

Materials
ROOF: Natural slate (including return).
RWG: Cast iron; uPVC gutter to return.
WALLS: Red brick walling laid to Flemish bond with painted stucco dressings; English Garden Wall bond to return and mono-pitched building.
WINDOWS: Single glazed double hung single glazed sliding sash with 1/1 panes, unless otherwise stated.

Front Elevation (E):
Front elevation faces east, two bays wide with bowed bay offset to left and entrance to right. Projecting moulded cill and string courses and painted stucco plat band to all floors. Painted stucco walling also to bowed bay, except some brick header courses between each floor level. Bay windows and segmental arched door have incised decoration in stuccowork above openings with edge roll moulding. Moulded stucco hood and label stops to door, above painted stucco plat band on pink marble colonnettes with dressed sandstone plinth and capital; plain fanlight above square-headed 5-panelled replacement timber door; toothed stucco quoins below plat band and decorative terracotta panel above door head. Colonnettes and terracotta panel repeated on first and second floor windows above door; carved sandstone capitals feature fruit at ground, foliage at first and flowers at second floor. Double glazing to second floor bay timber sliding sash windows.

South Elevation:
No.53 Malone Road (HB26.28.059A) abuts south face. South elevation of three-storey return has informal fenestration and simple detailing: brick, soldier coursed window heads and projecting brick headers to eaves supporting uPVC half-round gutter that discharges to cast iron downpipe. Painted brick walling at ground floor to both return and mono-pitched building, now enclosed by glazed lantern. One original timber framed sliding sash single glazed window, with 2/2 panes, survives; the remainder of ground floor opening are widened to accommodate modern doors and glazed screens.
Above ground, return has one window offset to right (W) and two to left (E), as described in ‘Materials’, at first floor; ditto to second floor – nearest to left, timber sliding sash window has 2/2 panes; and next to it: horizontal slit window, timber framed, divided in three and blocked up inside.

West elevation:
West elevation faces shared alley. Three-storey return to left (N) with clipped eaves to gable end (no chimney), otherwise blank. Right of return, main building has one opening at each level: modern timber framed glass double doors to ground floor; and timber sliding sashes to upper floors – with 2/2 panes to second floor and attic. To left, above return, further sliding sash window with 2/2 panes.

North Elevation:
No.49 Malone Road (HB26.28.059G) abuts north face. North elevation of return detailed as south elevation; sliding sash windows with margin panes overlooking yard to No49 at both first and second floor half-landings.

Set back from tree-lined street with paved front gardens bound by low rendered walling with canted concrete coping on the west side of the Malone Road, part of terrace of town houses, aligned parallel to main road. Mature tree to front garden of No51; otherwise surfaced in precast concrete paving slabs, with concrete steps to entrance door. Located directly opposite Fisherwick Presbyterian Church (HB26.17.014) and from this aspect, at corner of Chlorine Gardens, it is most impressive. Rear yard bound by end of mono-pitch and modern red brick walling with flush timber door to alley. To north boundary, walling extends beyond building and returns to west – same brick and bond as return so likely to be original, with one or two curved terracotta copings.

Historical information

Nos.37-53 Malone Road were constructed in 1886-88 to a design by the then Botanic Avenue-based architect, William Eaton, on what had been the grounds of Eglantine Hill, a pre-1832 house bounded by the Malone and Lisburn Roads in the east and west what is now Malone and Eglantine Avenues to the north and south. The terrace, originally named ‘Windsor Gardens’, was built for James Johnston, possibly the insurance agent of that name listed in contemporary directories as operating out of Waring Street. The whole grouping appears to have been completed by mid-1888, and all of the properties are recorded as occupied in the earliest available street directory of 1890.

No.51 – The first occupant of this building seems to have been George Benson, a manufacturer with a ‘handkerchief works’ in Fountain Street a works which appears to have operated under the title of ‘Benson’s Patent Hemstitching Machine Co.’. By 1900 Henry Agnew (‘merchant’) had taken over the lease. In the census of the following year the property is noted as 1st class dwelling containing 15 rooms occupied (on the night of the census) by Mr. Agnew, his wife, Eleanor, their two sons and a domestic servant. Another merchant (later listed as a ‘lard and oil manufacturer’), Cecil Topping, became resident in 1907, and in the 1911 he was sharing the house with his mother, Ellen Topping, and two domestic servants. By 1915 R.C. Howard (‘of Mitchell & Co., Belfast Ltd.’) had become the occupant, followed by a Dr. J. McElroy by 1918, W.C. McCartney (‘rent agent’) by 1925. The property was in multiple occupancy by 1932, being divided between Mr. McCartney and three others. These flats were given over to office use during the 1960s, with architects Dalzell & Campbell based in part of the building by the latter part of the decade, and the RSUA based here by 1974. It was still in multiple occupancy in the 1990s, with Tyrone Brick Ltd using part of the property as a showroom from at least 1990 to 1996.

Yard enclosed and glazed lantern over appears to have been installed 1989 - prior to listing of the building in Nov 1991.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43D/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-97
2 PRONI OS8/30/3/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1883-84
3 ‘Belfast Telegraph’, 5 August 1886, 15 September 1887
4 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1887 to 1996
5 ‘Belfast News-Letter’, 23 April 1887
6 PRONI OS8/30/4/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1896
7 PRONI VAL7B/14/15 valuation of Belfast, 1900
8 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]
9 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903
10 PRONI VAL12B/43K/4 valuation book, 1906-15

Secondary sources
1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’, (unpublished QUB MA thesis), 1967
2 Rowan, A.J. And Brett, C.E.B., Historic Buildings...Queens University of Belfast, (UAHS, 1968)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
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

Mid terrace four-storey red brick late Victorian town house, built 1886-87 by William Eaton, architect. One of a terrace of nine similar houses comprising No.37-49 & 53 Malone Road, Belfast (HB26.28.059A-G & I inclusive); as a group they form one of the most impressive terraces within the Malone Road Conservation Area. The Malone Road facade is particularly striking due to the rhythm created by each having a full-height bowed bay with conical slate roof and a wealth of ornate detailing. No. 51 retains its original return, without chimney. Now converted for commercial use, the domestic scale is remarkably intact with some fine historic detailing inside that adds to its character.