Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB26/12/001 A

Address :
45 and 47 Old Holywood Road Belfast County Antrim BT4 2HJ

Townland:
Ballymaghan

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
19/11/1976 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
House

Former Use
House

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
130-11SE

IG Ref:
J3891 7532

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

A pair of late-Victorian single storey with attic red-brick houses dating from 1881 possibly to designs by Thomas Jackson & Son. Two semi-detached houses now converted into one dwelling, rectangular plan form with a single storey return and a conservatory to the rear. The building forms part of a group of two pairs of semi-detached houses including 49 Old Holywood Road (HB26.12.001 C) and 51 Old Holywood Road (HB26.12.001 D) fronting onto Old Holywood Road. Half-hipped roof in plain red clay tiles with bonnet hip tiles, decorative bands of club and fishtail tiling, crested ridge tiles and terracotta ball finials. Moulded timber barge boards. Modern roof lights to rear. Projecting eaves with exposed rafter ends supports ogee cast iron guttering discharging to rectangular section downpipes. Rectangular section red-brick chimney stacks having corbelled coping and red-clay chimney pots. Vertical hung red clay tiles to attic storey with club and fishtail bands. Red brick walling laid to Flemish bond. Dentilled string course to impost level, buff and black brick banding to cill level and projecting black brick plinth course. Square-headed window openings with flat-arch lintels, painted cills having margin paned double hung timber sash windows with diamond pattern to upper sash (unless otherwise noted). The symmetrical four-bay principal elevation faces W and has a square-headed door opening to each end bay having timber panelled doors with fanlights. The door to S bay has been blocked on the inside, although both the fanlight and the door remain in place, so the infill is not evident from the outside. Canopy over the door openings is supported on decorative timber brackets and is slated in plain red clay tiles with fishtail banding. Gabled dormers to attic each have a canted bay window with timber sashes, built off front wall and supported on moulded timber brackets. Vertical tiling to dormer cheeks laid in alternative courses of club and fishtail red clay tiling. Crested ridge tiles and ball finials as main roof. The two-bay wide S elevation has two fixed windows to GF, a sliding sash window to centre of FF and is abutted to E by the modern conservatory. Windows to this elevation do not have diamond pattern to upper sashes, although the marginal panes are intact. The rear elevation faces E and has a single-storey polygonal timber-frame conservatory to SE, added later, and a single-storey flat-roofed return to NE. Large roof light to return and a timber casement window. Half-round cast iron guttering to rear discharging to circular downpipes. The N elevation consists of the two-bay wide N elevation of the return to E end and the N elevation of the main house. Square-headed door opening to E bay (extension) having a modern panelled timber door with multi-pane lazing to upper half. Multi-pane timber casement window immediately to W. The two-bay wide N elevation of the main house has two windows to GF and a window to centre of FF. Windows to this elevation do not have diamond pattern to upper sashes, although the marginal panes are intact. Setting: Narrow paved pathway around the building, lawned garden and a tarmaced driveway to front, timber deck and lawned garden to rear. The site is enclosed by dwarf red-brick walling topped by moulded stone coping and replacement railings with arrow rail heads. This walling runs between two sets of gate pillars, square on plan with red brick base, dressed sandstone shaft that is moulded and canted at corners and an octagonal coping with fluted base, indented roundels and conical top. Replacement gates supported on square hollow section metal posts with metal ball finial, all painted black. Materials: Roof: Red-clay tiles RWG: Cast iron, painted Walling: Red brick with black and cream brick string courses Windows: Timber sliding sash windows/ timber multi-pane casement windows to rear

Architects

Thomas Jackson

Historical Information

No's 45-51 Old Holywood Road, one-and-a-half-storey semi-detached houses, located in the townland of Ballymaghan, were constructed in 1881. The four late-Victorian dwellings, which are also known as ‘Pilgrim’s Cottages’, were erected by Sir William Ewart of Glenmachan House. Ewart (1817-1889) was born in Sydenham and became one of Belfast’s most prominent citizens and linen manufacturers. In 1814 his father and grandfather had established William Ewart & Son. Ewart became a partner in 1843 and by the time of his death in 1889, he had transformed the family firm into one of the largest linen manufactories in the world (amongst the firms property included warehouses such as No. 17 Bedford Street - HB26/30/055). Active in political life, William Ewart was elected Mayor of Belfast in 1859-60 and an M.P. For Belfast from 1878-89 (Dictionary of Ulster Biography). Glenmachan House, Ewart’s residence, was erected in 1879 to a design by Thomas Jackson & Son. The third edition of the Ordnance Survey maps (1902) records that the mansion possessed extensive grounds. The four semi-detached cottages on Old Holywood Road were constructed in 1881 (possibly also by Thomas Jackson & Son, although this cannot be confirmed) and were originally utilised as dwellings for the gardeners who worked the estate (DIA; Haines, p. 50). No's 45 and 47 Old Holywood Road were originally built as two semi-detached houses, until they were combined into a single dwelling in c. 1990. The Annual Revisions note that the pair were originally valued at £4 and 10 shillings each but the occupants were not recorded in the valuation sources until the early 20th century. In 1901 No. 45 Old Holywood Road (the southernmost house) was occupied by Charles Halliday, a garden labourer who continued to work the Glenmachan estate whilst the adjoining No. 47 was inhabited by David Graham who was the estate’s chauffeur. The 1911 census building return described each house as a 2nd class dwelling that consisted of five rooms. The Ewart family retained ownership of Glenmachan House, as well as no's 45-51 Old Holywood Road, until at least the 1970s. The value of No. 45 and No. 47 Old Holywood Road had been raised to £8 and 10 shillings each by the end of the Second Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72). No's 45-51 Old Holywood Road were listed in 1976. The NIEA HB Records note that No. 45 Old Holywood Road underwent extensive renovations in 1988-89 when its roof timbers were replaced and the conservatory to the rear of the dwelling was added. No. 47 Old Holywood Road underwent renovation work in 1980 that included repairs to its roof, the replacement of its rainwater goods and the reconstruction of its original dormer and sliding sash windows. In 1988 the roof timbers of No. 47 were completely replaced due to an extensive outbreak of rot. No's 45 and 47 Old Holywood Road were converted into a single property in c. 1990. The timber conservatory to the rear of the dwelling was installed in 1997 and in 1999 further remedial work was carried out to no's 45-47 when the central chimney stack was repaired and brickwork repointed (NIEA HB Records). References Primary Sources 1. PRONI OS/6/3/5/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1858) 2. PRONI OS/6/3/5/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1902) 3. PRONI OS/6/3/5/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1919-20) 4. PRONI VAL/12/B/17/2C-2H - Annual Revisions (1879-1897) 5. PRONI VAL/12/B/43/N/1-9 – Annual Revisions (1897-1930) 6. PRONI VAL/4/B/7/47 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72) 7. Belfast Street Directories (1877-1943) 8. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911) 9. First Survey Record – HB26/12/001 (1976) 10. First Survey Image – HB26/12/001 (No Date) 11. NIEA HB Records – HB26/12/001A-B Secondary Sources 1. Haines, F., ‘East Belfast: Paintings and stories from harbour to hills’ Donaghadee: Cottage Publications, 2001. Online Resources 1. Dictionary of Ulster Biography – http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1799 2. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

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

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

A small but well proportioned and detailed pair of late-Victorian single-storey plus attic red-brick semi-detached houses, dating from 1881, possibly to designs by Thomas Jackson & Son and now in use as a single dwelling. The pair have group value with No.49 and 51 Old Holywood Road (HB26.12.001 D and E), all fronting onto Old Holywood Road and facing Belvoir Park. The group of buildings were originally known as 'Pilgrim's Cottages' and were built for the gardeners of Glenmachan House for Sir William Ewart. Ewart, one of Belfast’s most prominent citizens and linen manufacturers, was elected Mayor of Belfast in 1859-60 and an M.P. For Belfast from 1878-89. His legacy includes the former linen warehouse on Bedford Street in the centre of Belfast which is a landmark building. The four houses built for Ewart's gardeners are reminiscent of the cottage dwellings built for workers at garden villages such as Bourneville and Port Sunlight, grouped in pairs and set back from the road with good front and back gardens. Although the addition of the conservatory to the rear and the loss of one original staircase alter the character to some extent, the decorative roof tiling and brickwork, surviving margin paned sash windows and elaborate gate pillars and walling, make this a unique and very distinct pair of buildings within the Belmont area.

General Comments

Date of Survey

24 July 2014