Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/14/020 A

Address :
4 Cyprus Avenue Belfast Co. Antrim BT5 5NT

Townland:
Ballyhackamore

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Survey 2:
B2

Date of Listing:
24/03/2016 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
Yes

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-15

IG Ref:
J3700 7400

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A two storey semi-detached sandstone house dating from c.1877 attributed to local architects Young & Mackenzie. L-shaped plan form with a two-storey hipped roof bay to front and a single storey flat-roofed modern extension to rear. The house is abutted to E by 6 Cyprus Avenue (listed under HB26.14.020 B) and they form a group of two pairs of semi-detached houses with 2 Cyprus Avenue (listed under HB26.14.021 A) and 99 Upper Newtownards Road (listed under HB26.14.021 B). The site is situated to the N side of Cyprus Avenue. Pitched natural slate roof with angled black-clay ridge tiles and projecting eaves. uPVC half-round guttering discharging to circular downpipes. Two rectangular section rendered chimney stacks with corbelled coping and red-clay chimney pots. Walling laid to rock-faced random-coursed Scrabo sandstone with chamfered plinth course. Square-headed window openings with flat-arch lintels and painted cills, having original 2/1 and 4/1 double hung timber sashes with ogee horns to GF and FF (unless otherwise stated). South elevation: The principal elevation faces S and consists of a bay to E, a three-sided projecting canted bay immediately to W and a recessed bay to W end. Two windows to GF and one to FF to E bay. Square-headed door opening to W bay with chamfered stone surround and a replacement six-panelled timber door with fanlight opening onto 3 steps, curved on plan; cast metal lamp mounted on wall to left of door. East elevation: The E elevation consists of the side elevation of the canted bay to S, having window openings at GF and FF, a two bay gabled projection & a single bay to N with monopitch roof extending down from main roof-line (cat-slide). Replacement timber windows to GF of central bays; smaller 1/1 sashes to N bay. North elevation: The two-storey rear elevation faces N and has a single storey flat-roofed part to E end. Modern timber casement window to GF and a sash window to FF. Square-headed door opening with sheeted timber door. East elevation: The E elevation is abutted by 6 Cyprus Avenue (listed under HB26.14.020 B). Setting: Single storey flat-roofed garage and shed to the tarmaced rear yard. The house has a paved driveway and a lawned garden to W and a modest landscaped garden to S. Enclosed by hedge to S, timber fencing to E and red-brick walling to N. Painted metal gate to S (fronting onto Cyprus Avenue) supported on slim rectangular section concrete piers with corbelled caps and fluted panel. The house is part of a group of two pairs of semi-detached houses including 6 Cyprus Avenue (listed under HB26.14.020 B), 2 Cyprus Avenue (listed under HB26.14.021 A) and 99 Upper Newtownards Road (listed under HB26.14.021 B) built on a generous site between Cyprus Avenue, Beersbridge Road and Upper Newtwonards Road. Materials Roof: natural slate RWG: uPVC Walling: rock-faced, random-coursed Scrabo sandstone Windows: 2/1 to GF and 4/1 double-hung timber sashes to FF

Architects

Young & Mackenzie

Historical Information

No. 4 Cyprus Avenue, a two-storey semi-detached house (attached to the adjoining No. 6 Cyprus Avenue) was originally constructed in c. 1877. The second edition Ordnance Survey map (1858) records that the townland of Ballyhackamore remained predominantly rural in character in the mid-19th century and was occupied by only a small number of gentlemen’s manors that included Bloomfield House and Greenville House. By the 1870s the industrial expansion of Belfast, coupled with the development of the Belfast & County Down Railway, resulted in the development of new streets and housing in the townland. The Annual Revisions record that nos 2-6 Cyprus Avenue and No. 99 Upper Newtownards Road (HB26/14/020A-B; HB26/14/021A-B) were constructed for the Bloomfield Land & Building Co. Ltd., which was formed by the landowning Boyd family in 1874 to secure leases for building projects in the East Belfast townlands of Ballyhackamore and Ballycloughan. The Annual Revisions note that the four villas, which were originally known as ‘Plevna Villas’ had been erected by 1878. The houses were most likely constructed by Young & Mackenzie, a local partnership that the Dictionary of Irish Architects describes as ‘the most successful architectural practise in Belfast … the leading architects for the Presbyterian Church in the North East [who also] received some of the most important commercial commissions in the city.’ Young & Mackenzie’s papers record that the firm designed four villas in the Bloomfield area in 1877. In the following year the firm also designed a terrace of cottages on the Beersbridge Road for the Bloomfield Land & Building Co. Ltd (nos 364-374 Beersbridge Road - HB26/10/002A F). Young & Mackenzie’s papers record that the builder contracted to carry out the construction of the four villas was J. Smyth & Son (PRONI Young & Mackenzie papers; Dictionary of Irish Architects). The Annual Revisions included a plan of the buildings (dating from c. 1878) which depicted Plevna Villas along their current layouts suggesting that no significant alterations have been made to the original design of the villas since the late-Victorian period (the current single-storey flat-roof extension to the rear of the building was constructed by at least 1987). In 1878 the valuer set the total rateable value of No. 4 Cyprus Avenue at £27 and noted that it was originally occupied by William Sharman Crawford, a local saddler with business premises on Ann Street (UTD). Between 1890 and 1910 the house was occupied by a Miss Anne Patterson who opened her dwelling to boarders. The 1901 census described No. 4 Cyprus Avenue as a 1st class dwelling that consisted of eight rooms whilst the contemporary Belfast Revaluation (1900) increased the value of the building to £30. Anne Patterson vacated the house in 1910 when James E. Archibald, the chief reporter at the Belfast Newsletter, took possession of No. 4 Cyprus Avenue. The Annual Revisions note that ownership of Plevna Villas passed from the Bloomfield Land & Building Company to the Irish Mathematician, William McFadden Orr, in c. 1900. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography records that William McFadden Orr (1866-1934) was born in Comber Co. Down and held the post of Professor of Mathematics at Royal College of Science Dublin between 1891 and 1933 (ODNB). No. 4 Cyprus Avenue (which became known as ‘Greystone’ in the early-20th century) was increased in value to £52 under the First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57). George C. Hamilton, a local bedding manufacturer, had occupied the house by the 1930s. His family continued to reside there until at least the 1970s. By the end of the Second Revaluation (1956-72) the total rateable value of No. 4 Cyprus Avenue had been increased to £53. References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/4/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey map (1858) 2. PRONI OS/6/3/4/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey map (1902) 3. PRONI OS/6/3/4/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1920-21) 4. PRONI OS/6/3/4/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1931) 5. PRONI OS/6/3/4/6 – Sixth Edition Ordnance Survey map (1938) 6. PRONI D2194 – Young & Mackenzie Papers (1878) 7. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2B-2G – Annual Revisions (1867-1897) 8. PRONI VAL/7/B/8/22 – Belfast Revaluation (1900) 9. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/L/1-10 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 10. PRONI VAL/3/C/3/19 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57) 11. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/29 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 12. Ulster Town Directories (1877-1943) 13. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 14. Ordnance Survey Map 130-15SW3 (1987) Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Irish Architects website - http://www.dia.ie/ 2. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/35333

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation H-. Alterations detracting from building J. Setting K. Group value

Historic Interest

U. Historic Associations R. Age S. Authenticity V. Authorship X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A two storey semi-detached sandstone house dating from c.1877 attributed to the well-known local architects Young & Mackenzie. The house is part of a group of two pairs of semi-detached houses including 6 Cyprus Avenue (HB26.14.020 B), 2 Cyprus Avenue (HB26.14.021 A) and 99 Upper Newtownards Road (HB26.14.021 B), built on a spacious site between Cyprus Avenue, Beersbridge Road and Upper Newtownards Road. The group of houses, originally known as ‘Plevna Villas’, were erected following the industrial expansion of the Belfast & County Down Railway and are well-proportioned and detailed with timber sash windows. The architectural style and materials are similar to the group of semi-detached houses on Beersbridge Road (listed under HB26.10.002), also attributed to Young & Mackenzie, although the Cyprus Avenue pair are significantly larger with a more complex plan form incorporating a two-storey canted bay. With historic associations to the Irish Mathematician, William McFadden Orr, the house has group value with its neighbouring houses and makes a positive contribution to the character of the local area.

General Comments

Date of Survey

09 April 2014