585 Antrim Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Semi-detached asymmetrical gabled three-bay two-storey with attic redbrick house, built c.1865 to the designs of Robert Young. Square on plan facing west and set back on the east side of Antrim Road accessed via shared bitmac avenue with elevated front lawn.

Pitched and hipped artificial slate roofs with roll-moulded black clay ridge tiles, lead valleys and triangular dormer windows. Three tall profiled polychromatic brick chimneystacks with tall octagonal clay pots. Moulded cast-iron guttering supported on painted angled brick eaves course (to the north section), supported on overhanging sheeted eaves with exposed rafter feet and purlins (to the south section) and cast-iron downpipes. Red brick walling laid in Flemish bond with original pointing, painted stone quoins and chamfered stone trim to projecting brick plinth course. Square-headed window openings with stop-chamfered reveals and lintels, painted stone sills and uPVC windows.

Three-bay front elevation has a central entrance bay and a three-sided canted bay window to the right surmounted by gabled attic-storey oriel with polychromatic brick panels and replacement window to the attic. The left hand bay has paired windows to both floors. Basket-handle-headed door opening with stop-chamfered painted stone surround embellished with foliate carvings and surmounted by hood moulding with bird label stops. Replacement double-leaf hardwood panelled doors and plain glazed overlight. Door opens onto tiled platform enclosed by low plinth wall to front bitmac parking area.

North elevation has randomly-placed window openings and abutted to the right by a tall chimneystack with polychromatic brick detailing. Flat-roofed extension abuts the left hand side with rear entrance opening onto paved area.

East elevation abutted by adjoining house No.587 (HB26/46/017A).

Two-bay south elevation has a slightly advanced three-storey gable and single-storey bay window to the right. The gable has deep overhanging eaves with elaborate pierced timber bargeboard supported on decorative brackets, triple pointed-arched windows to the first floor and diminutive window opening to the attic. The remainder of this elevation has a later bay window with French doors, added c.1990, a slender window opening and a door opening to the first floor opening onto steel balcony.

Roof : Artificial slate
RWG : Cast-iron
Walling: Red brick /painted stone
Windows: UPVC

Setting:
Located on a private mature landscaped site, shared with adjoining house (HB26/46/017A) and a further late twentieth-century dwelling and accessed via long bitmac driveway on the east side of Antrim Road. The front lawn is enclosed by tall brown brick walls with timber gates.

Historical information

Nos 585-587 Antrim Road, a pair of two-storey semidetached red-brick dwellings also known as Fortwilliam Villas, were constructed in the townland of Skegoneill in c. 1865. The Victorian dwellings were constructed on land that was formerly part of the estate of Fortwilliam House which was broken up in the mid-19th century. Larmour states that a large number of mansions and villas were erected on the former estate in the 1860s and 1870s, although only a few now survive (Larmour). Fortwilliam Villas were designed by Robert Young (1822-1917), a local architect and civil engineer who had established his independent practice in the city in 1852 before entering into partnership with his former pupil John Mackenzie in c. 1867 to form Young & Mackenzie, which became the most successful architectural practice in Belfast by the end of the 19th century. Nos 585-587 Antrim Road were designed by Robert Young shortly before he entered into partnership with Mackenzie. The buildings were first recorded in the Annual Revisions book of 1862-66 which did not note the exact date of construction. The buildings were first noted in the Belfast Street Directories of 1865 suggesting a construction date of c. 1865 (DIA).

No. 585-87 Antrim Road were initially valued at £66 each and were leased to tenants by Robert Young. The first occupant of No. 587 was Robert Young himself, who had previously resided at No. 268 Antrim Road (HB26/47/003A). Young remained at Fortwilliam Villas until the 1870s when he moved to Rathvarna House (HB26/44/003), the house that he had built for himself in Chichester Park. The next occupant of the house was a Ms. Mary Grimshaw who resided at the address until 1880 when the Rev. John. Henry Smythe came into possession of the property. Following the death of the Rev. Smythe in 1887 No. 587 Antrim Road was acquired by John Gregg, a local iron merchant. The buildings were first recorded on the third edition Ordnance Survey map (1901-02) and the contemporary 1901 census of Ireland described nos 585-587 Antrim Road as a pair of 1st class dwellings which consisted of 13 rooms each. By 1911 No. 587 had been occupied by William Hunter, a local magistrate and merchant who was a partner in Wright & Hunter, cabinet makers and upholsterers who held business premises on Arthur Street (UTD). Hunter continued to reside at Fortwilliam Villas until his death in 1927 at which time his widow Mary Hunter took possession of the site (PRONI Wills). Robert Young continued to be recorded as owner of nos 585-587 Antrim Road until the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57). That Mary Hunter continued to reside at No. 587 Antrim Road, which was increased in value to £80, until 1946 when she purchased both buildings outright. The house was occupied by a Mr. Hooton Mitchell between the 1950s and 1970s and by the end of the Second General Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of No. 587 Antrim Road remained at £80.

Nos 585-587 Antrim Road were included in the Somerton Road Conservation Area which was designated in 2000 as ‘the Somerton area exhibits a very high standard of townscape character with many period Victorian and Edwardian properties contributing to the special quality of this suburban setting’ (DOE). During the Second Survey No. 587 Antrim Road continued to be utilised as a private dwelling.

Resources

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/61/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1901-02)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/61/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1931)
3. PRONI OS/6/1/61/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1938)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/5/8A-8F – Annual Revisions (1862-1897)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/H/1-7 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/10- First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-72)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/13 - Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Ulster Town Directories (1877-1943)
9. PRONI Wills Catalogue (4 Sept 1887; 31 May 1927)
10. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
11. First Survey record – HB26/46/017 (1985)

Secondary Sources
1. Larmour, P., ‘Belfast: An illustrated architectural guide’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1987.

Online Resources
1. Dictionary of Irish Architects – http://www.dia.ie/
2. DOE Conservation Areas –
http://www.planningni.gov.uk/index/policy/supplementary_guidance/conservation/conservation_map/conservation_somerton_chichester.htm

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
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

Semi-detached asymmetrical gabled three-bay two-storey with attic redbrick house, built c.1865 to the designs of Robert Young. An impressive, well-proportioned house demonstrating a variety of external detailing, including polychromatic brick, elaborate pierced timber bargeboards and foliate carvings, typifying the eclectic style of the High Victorian period. Despite the replacement of its original windows the building retains its external appearance and most of its original interior. The house was the residence of its designer, architect Robert Young, until 1870s and is set in it's original mature landscaped site. This house and its neighbour (HB26/46/017A) are noteworthy examples of their type and highlight the wealth and aspirations of suburban Belfast at the turn of the last century.