Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/06/001 B

Address :
34 The Mount BELFAST County Antrim BT5 4ND

Townland:
Ballymacarret

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
18/10/1978 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House - Terrace

Former Use
House - Terrace

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
Yes

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OS Map No:
130/14SW

IG Ref:
J3540 7374

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

A five-bay two-storey over basement Georgian-style end of terrace townhouse erected c.1860. Rectangular plan with single-storey over basement return. Located on the south west portion of The Mount (off Castlereagh Street), east of Belfast City Centre the house is currently unoccupied and in a state of decay. Pitched natural slate roof with clay ridge tiles Cast-iron ogee moulded rainwater goods, some uPVC replacement. Smooth rendered chimneystacks; pots removed. Ruled-and-lined cement rendered walling with long-and-short quoins; moulded masonry corbel course. 6/6 timber sliding sash windows with no horns; masonry cills; moulded surrounds to first floor only (glazing largely removed and blocked up). The front door is boarded up; moulded panelled surrounds rising to scrolled console brackets supporting an entablature canopy surmounted by a pediment. The principal elevation faces southwest and is asymmetrically arranged. The front door is located slightly left of centre with two windows to either side; first floor windows directly over; basement windows below (view obscured). The left gable is abutted by no.32 The Mount HB26/06/001A. The rear elevation is asymmetrically arranged and comprises various window sizes located to the ground and first floor. The right gable is abutted by no.36 The Mount HB26/06/001C. Setting: The site is currently bounded by corrugated sheet metal obscuring the view to the buildings. The land immediately to the rear has been left vacant. The immediate surroundings are largely 19th and 20th century red brick 2 and 3 storey housing. There are some remains of wrought iron railings to the front of the house. Roofing: Natural slate Walling: Ruled-and-lined cement render Windows: Timber sliding sash RWG: Cast-iron

Architects

Not Known

Historical Information

An early valuation map indicates that nos 32 and 34 The Mount, as well as the rest of the houses surrounding The Mount Square (now demolished), had been constructed by c. 1860; the adjoining No. 36 (HB26/06/001C) was still under construction when the map was drawn. No. 34 The Mount was built at the same time as No. 32 and was also let by William B. Ritchie who owned many of the buildings on the square. The Annual Revisions initially valued the house at £23 and recorded the occupant as a Ms. Mary Burt, who continued to live at the address until as late as 1894. In 1880 the value of No. 34 The Mount was reduced slightly to £22; it is not known why this decrease took place but No. 32 witnessed a similar devaluation in the same year. In 1894 the house was first recorded as the property of Francis Ritchie & Sons, a felt company and manure works on the Mountpottinger Road which was operated by William B. Ritchie (Belfast Street Directories – 1880). By 1894 Mary Burt had vacated the address when a Mr. James Miller was recorded as occupant; Miller resided at the address until at least 1900 when the Annual Revisions record that the property fell vacant. However, census records indicate that Miller, a 62 year old Anglican Spirit Merchant, continued to live here with his family in 1901. In 1900 a revaluation of property in Belfast described No. 34 as a two-storey private dwelling which measured 43 ½ by 26 ft and 24 ft in height; the basement level was larger than No. 32 measuring 43 by 26 ft. The house was fitted with gas installations and consisted of nine rooms (excluding its kitchen) and also possessed a bathroom; a small return to the rear of the house measured 14 by 15ft. In 1906 Pottinger Ward was valued separately from the rest of Central Belfast and the value of No. 34 The Mount was subsequently increased to £25. In that year the lessor of the house, as well as the adjoining No. 32, was recorded as a Mr. James McQuoid; McQuoid resided in No. 36 The Mount and was employed as the agent of the Ritchie estate (then owned by Thomas Hay Ritchie). No. 34 The Mount remained vacant until c. 1911 when the census of that year recorded that a Mr. Robert Gorman had come into possession; Gorman, who was employed as a clothing trader, briefly lived at the address with his family until 1913 when a Mr. James B. Hunter took possession. Hunter vacated the house in 1916 when a Mr. David Duncan, a fitter, occupied it; Duncan’s family continued to occupy the site until the 1970s. There was no change in the value of No. 34 The Mount until the First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland property in 1935 when its value was increased to £26; by that time No. 34 had passed from Francis Ritchie & Sons into the ownership of a Mr. William Philips (who also owned nos 34 and 36). In 1956 the government undertook the second revaluation of property in Northern Ireland under which No. 34 The Mount was revalued at £29. David Duncan continued to reside at No. 34 The Mount until the 1970s, however by 1980 the house had fallen vacant (Belfast Street Directories). The Mount square was constructed c. 1860 on the site of Mount Pottinger, a former gentleman’s residence which belonged to the Pottinger family. The Pottingers purchased the entire townland of Ballymacarrett in 1672 and built their first house on the site of The Mount by 1705; a later house continued to occupy the site by the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map in 1834. However by 1858 the second edition of the map showed that the house had been taken down and the site laid out in the form of the current square (Robb). One of the Pottinger family’s most prominent members, Sir. Thomas Pottinger, was the first Governor of Hong Kong and is commemorated by a Ulster History Circle plaque close to No. 36 The Mount. Nos 32 - 36 The Mount, are the oldest example of terraced housing in the townland of Ballymacarrett which is now greatly characterised by the redbrick terraces that were constructed from the mid-to-late 1800s. Haines wrote that ‘virtually all the houses built after 1857 were still standing a century later [but by the] start of the twentieth century ... the whole of inner East Belfast had submitted to the terrace, and only The Mount, the original focus of the district, even then starting to fade, reflected the more prosperous years of Ballymacarrett’ (Haines, p. 79). Nos 16-26 The Mount were quite similar to the southern terrace, however these were delisted and demolished, leaving nos 32-36 as the last surviving original buildings. In recent years the three houses have fallen into a state of dilapidation, No. 32 is now essentially a ruin, having lost its roof (Buildings at Risk, p. 36). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey map 1834 2. PRONI OS/6/3/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map 1858 3. PRONI OS/6/3/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map 1902 4. PRONI OS/6/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1920-21 5. PRONI OS/6/3/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map 1931 6. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/7 – Annual Revisions 1862-1873 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/9 – Annual Revisions 1874-1881 8. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/15 – Annual Revisions 1882-1897 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/A/31 – Annual Revisions 1897-1905 10. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/K/2 – Annual Revisions 1906-1915 11. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/K/5 – Annual Revisions 1916-1930 12. PRONI VAL/3/B/3/24 – First General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1935 13. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/23 – Second General Revaluation of Northern Ireland 1956-1972 14. Census of Ireland (1901) 15. Belfast Street Directories (1877; 1880; 1901; 1907; 1908; 1910; 1918; 1921-22; 1930; 1940; 1950; 1960; 1970; 1980; 1990) Secondary Sources 1. ‘Buildings at Risk Vol. 7’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2005 2. Haines, K., ‘Images of East Belfast’ Belfast: The History Press, 1997. 3. Haines, K., ‘East Belfast: Paintings and stories from harbour to hills’ Donaghadee: Cottage Publications, 2001.

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation K. Group value

Historic Interest

X. Local Interest Z. Rarity R. Age S. Authenticity T. Historic Importance U. Historic Associations

Evaluation

A five bay two-storey over basement Georgian-style end of terrace townhouse erected c.1860. Following the delisting and demolition of nos. 16-26 The Mount, erected around the same time, nos. 32 (HB26/06/001A) 34 and no.36 (HB26/06/001C) are the only remaining examples of early housing in the area. Currently in a state of decay, the house has lost some historic detailing including windows and roofing, however the general overall proportions and style can still be read. The house has significant historical importance due to its association with the Pottinger family and remains one of the oldest surviving examples of terraced housing in the townland. Number 34 has group value with its neighbours and is of local interest to the area.

General Comments

Please note this record has been renumbered it was previously recorded as HB26/06/001

Date of Survey

11 April 2011