Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/16/041

Address :
Robin Hill 210 Upper Malone Road Dunmurry Belfast BT17 9JZ

Townland:
Malone Upper

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
146/16SW

IG Ref:
J3108 6812

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

‘Robin Hill’ is a substantial villa constructed in 1939 located off a private lane on the Upper Malone Road. It occupies a large site with a formal garden bounded by mature trees. The house, in roughcast stucco render, is positioned centrally and stands prominently within its
setting. Its Southeast facing front elevation and main entrance is approached through a winding path from a gated entrance. Front elevation (SE): The front elevation consists of two entrances. One which is located by the front facing gable, an original double door bay connecting to the family room, and the main entrance, defined by a stone porch with ornate round columns and pilasters. This is accompanied by a stepping plinth made of terrazzo in saturated pink hue. The main entrance door is constructed of original hardwood oak with a central window to the top in Art Deco style ironmongery and leaded lights. Original steel windows can be seen throughout the front elevation amongst original natural slate roof tiles, fascia boards and cast-iron rainwater goods. Other original features include brick string course detailing, sprocketed eaves and exposed rafter ends. Side elevation (SW): The Southwest elevation has similar detailing and features to the front elevation whilst a double-storey carport extension can be found to the rear. To the centre of this elevation, PVC window at ground level by the kitchen and an original double-height window with art deco style metal work located by the main internal staircase. Rear elevation (NW): The carport extension continues along the rear elevation with few original windows remaining. However, the brick string course, rafter ends and cast-iron rainwater goods remain on the original areas of the house. More prominently, a modern single-storey extension has been added – further described in side elevation (NE). Side elevation (NE): The Northeast elevation displays a more substantial change through its single storey square extension in Italian limestone and ground to ceiling height glazing. Original windows to ground floor by the old and new interface has been altered to cater for the extension which is understood to be added circa 2005 or slightly later. With regards to the original fabric of the house, a large proportion of historic windows remain. Bay windows, exposed rafter ends and cast iron rainwater goods still remain in operation.

Architects

Historical Information

210 Upper Malone Road was constructed in 1939 for James F Newel, owner of two men’s outfitters shops in Belfast. The architect is currently unknown. The current house was built within the former demesne of Lismoyne House, a mansion house pre-dating the first edition OS map of 1832-3. The c150 acre estate remained largely undeveloped until the addition of ‘Longhurst’ in 1893. ‘Ardleevan’ was the second dwelling to be added to the NW of the demesne, over thirty years later. From the 1930s onwards, development of this area of the former demesne accelerated and today ‘Robin Hill’ sits among a group of around forty substantial houses situated in their own grounds. The house was built for James Ford Newel and his wife Nellie Davidson Newel who named it ‘Shanacloon’ (meaning ‘old meadow’) perhaps after a familiar place in the south of Ireland, where several townlands bear this name. Shortly after the house was finished in 1939, it was assessed for entry into the valuation records at a valuation of £100. The house comprised a main block accessed through an open porch and a substantial return, which incorporated a motor house on the ground floor. The house stood in 1¾ acres of land. The newly-built house is described by the valuer as ‘well built and finished’, with all joinery work in oak and ‘of high quality’. The house was built with all modern conveniences but did not have central heating, being heated by ‘numerous’ electric fireplaces instead. The house was ‘well planned’ so that all the main receptions and bedrooms have a southern aspect. The ground floor accommodation comprised a large hall panelled in oak and featuring a fireplace, three good reception rooms with oak panelling, a large cloak room with basin and WC, a pantry, scullery and kitchen with terrazzo flooring and tiled walls and a ‘Triplex stove’, (a coal-fired combination fireplace, oven and hob, manufactured in Staffordshire which heated water through a back boiler). At the rear there was a servants’ WC and a back door led into the motor house. On the upper floor were four main front bedrooms, a large bath and WC, two back bedrooms, one with a fireplace and a tiled second bathroom with separate WC. The room above the garage was used for a full-size table tennis table. There was a roof storage space with Slingsby ladder. Newspaper reports show that the Newel’s employed a maid and a gardener while resident in the house. James Newel was a former president of the Chamber of Trade, the Rotary Club and the Merchant Tailors’ Association. He was the son of Henry Arthur Newel, master clothier (1901 census). James joined the family firm and became managing director of the family men’s clothiers and school outfitters business which had premises known as ‘James’ in Lombard Street (image held by NMNI) as well as a shop ‘H A Newel & Co’ in Royal Avenue. James Newel was much admired as a baritone singer, considered ‘one of the best baritones in the north’ and performed at concerts and fundraising events around the north of Ireland for much of his adult life in the decades between 1900 and 1938, including regular broadcasts on the radio after the launch of the BBC in Belfast in 1924. James Newel died in 1942, at the age of 64 but his widow Nellie, appears to have lived in the house until it was sold in the 1950s. The next occupants were James Thompson and his wife Lillias who bought the house in the late 1955 and renamed it ‘Robin Hill’. James Thompson was the son of Robert S Thompson, who had become a partner at Belfast tea importers McArthur and Willis in 1896, the firm later becoming a Thompson family enterprise. James joined the firm and according to company lore, it was he and his wife who hit upon the name ‘Punjana’ for McArthur & Willis’s most celebrated brand. The couple were inspired by an inscription on the Gillespie statue in Comber, relating to the Punjab. Punjana Tea Ltd was incorporated as a company in 1956 and in recent decades the company has used the name Thompson Tea as an umbrella for various tea products. For a time (c2012), James Thompson’s image appeared on Punjana Tea packaging. In 2003, planning consent was obtained for a double height extension to the rear return of the house, and a single storey extension to the E elevation. References: Primary Sources: 1. PRONI OS/6/1/64/5 – Fifth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1920 and 1931) 2. PRONI VAL/3/C/1/27 – First General Revaluation 1936-1957 3. PRONI VAL/3/D/1/14/N/37 – First General Revaluation 1934-1957 4. PRONI VAL/4/B/1/54 – Second General Revaluation 1956-1972 5. Large-scale OS maps (https://shop.centremapslive.co.uk/) 1920, 1931, 1937, 1963, 1988 6. County Down Spectator, 1st December 1905 7. Belfast Newsletter, 30th October 1909 8. Belfast Newsletter, 10th October 1924 9. Belfast Newsletter, 4th February 1928 10. Northern Whig, 21st January 1931 11. Londonderry Sentinel, 30thJuly 1938 12. Belfast Telegraph, 30th March 1942 13. Belfast Telegraph, 11th January 1945 14. Belfast Newsletter, 11th April 1946 15. Belfast Telegraph, 27th December 1946 16. Planning application Z/2003/2970/F 17. NMNI Hogg Collection: James, Lombard Street BELUM.Y8573 Secondary Sources: 18. Thompsons Tea (www.thompsonstea.com)

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

The house now known as ‘Robin Hill’ at 210 Upper Malone Road was constructed in 1939 for James F Newel, owner of two men’s outfitters shops in Belfast. The architect is currently unknown. The current house was built within the former demesne of Lismoyne House, a mansion house pre-dating the first edition OS map of 1832-3. The c150 acre estate remained largely undeveloped until the addition of ‘Longhurst’ in 1893. ‘Ardleevan’ was the second dwelling to be added to the NW of the demesne, over thirty years later. From the 1930s onwards, development of this area of the former demesne accelerated and today ‘Robin Hill’ sits among a group of around forty substantial houses situated in their own grounds. The house, in the Arts and Crafts idiom occupies a mature site comprising a main block accessed through an open porch and a substantial return, which had incorporated a motor house on the ground floor and a new modern sunroom incorporating crisp detailing in the modern idiom. Despite the retention of much historic character across the majority of the building, the dwelling does not meet the threshold to merit protection by listing.

General Comments

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Date of Survey

22 July 2025